The Grand Elemental Master
by SKdaGamer
Summary: The world has sustained five years of peace, and over this time, Spyro and Cynder have been getting closer and closer, to the point where Spyro is ready to propose. But as a new darkness rises and steals Cynder from him, Spyro must go on a long journey to master every element to dispel the darkness that now threatens not just Cynder, but now the whole world.
1. Chapter 1: Post-Graduate

Bright sunlight streamed through the open window, lighting up the once dark room. Thick shadows were cast throughout it as the hard, bright daylight invaded into it, reaching the closed eyes of a sleeping purple dragon. The light shone through his eyelids, rousing Spyro from his slumber, and he awoke with a groan.

As usual, the purple dragon struggled with a new routine, a new life. Since the war ended five years ago, he'd spent the rest of his life as a student at the Warfang Academy. Spyro had graduated five weeks ago however, and although he felt free, the young dragon felt almost _too_ free. Spyro had no clue what to do with his life, constantly trying to fill in time, despite some of the commitments he already had.

Spyro rolled over with a groan, not wanting to get out of bed. While the purple dragon lay in bed, his mind began to wander, eyes scanning his room. He spotted a painting up on his wall next to his bedroom door. It was a painting of the swamp; Spyro had gotten Cynder to paint it for him, as she had taken up painting as a hobby, even getting paid to do commissions on the occasion. The painting helped him remain thankful for his childhood and for his foster parents, reminding him of his first home, but it also caused him to think of Cynder every time he saw it.

He and the black dragoness had gotten closer over the years, and they were now in a relationship. They had been dating for a good three years now, having started when they were seventeen. He remembered when he had asked Cynder out for the first time. It was scary, but it had gone super well, especially since they already had two years of a strong friendship that had helped get them even closer.

After focusing on Cynder and thinking back on their first date for a bit, Spyro's mind began to wander again, focusing now on his friends. He was looking forward to spending more time with them, especially since they were all graduated now and could spend a lot more time together. He'd managed to get with a group of dragons quite quickly and was super happy about it, especially since he was still only a couple years into his life as a dragon rather than a dragonfly. It was great to have friends to help him out and support him.

Speaking of which, he actually had plans to play pawball with his friends today. It was something they tried to organise every week or two outside of league games, as Spyro played in a league, and it was great fun just to let out some energy and run around the field in pursuit of the ball.

Pawball was a very similar game to 'football', a game that the feline tribes often played, but it also included other modifications like the inclusion of wrestling to fight for the ball, as well as unguarded goals. The aim remained the same: to get as many goals as possible.

Spyro had planned to head over to the pawball field early in the morning and play it up until lunch, which he and his friends planned to have together. Because of the early start and a need to actually get out of bed, he rose immediately, stretching like a cat once he was on the ground. He felt his muscles stretching as a satisfactory pressure went down his spine, and he let out a massive yawn, strings of saliva hanging between his jaws and his tongue curling in on itself.

The twenty-year-old purple dragon straightened and shook his body out a bit, before he walked out of his room, having a short and easy breakfast: a simple piece of steak which he cooked using his fire breath. After he finished eating, he grabbed his pawball and put it into a satchel that he then slung around his shoulder, before he made his way outside, closing the door behind him. With a heavy flap of his wings, he took to the skies en route to the pawball field.

Upon his arrival, he noticed two of his three friends were already there waiting for him. The first was Blaze, a twenty-one-year-old fire dragon that had graduated alongside him, and was also the first friend Spyro had made since the war ended. He was well-defined, his snout large and square, and his eyes blazing red. His five horns were long and golden like his wing membranes and chest. The dragon's tailblade was a large golden spiral made of three blades that curved around each other.

The second dragon was Kairo, a twenty-two-year-old electric dragon that Spyro had met through their pawball team, bonding over the sport. He had graduated from Warfang Academy a year before Spyro and Blaze did. He too was muscular and well-built. His tailblade was a long indigo spade that ran down two edges of the tip of his tail, and long, zigzagging indigo horns shot out from the back of his skull.

Spyro greeted them as he landed, before they heard loud flapping of wings behind them. They all turned around in the direction of the sound and saw Arcton flying in, landing behind them, panting heavily. The twenty-year-old ice dragon was small and round, having a somewhat feminine stature. His neck was long and eyes large. His crown of three purple horns shot up in the air and his tailblade a five-pronged tip consisting of long purple spikes. He and Spyro had met while studying for an exam, Spyro helping him out as he had not studied for it, and they had become close friends afterward.

"Sorry I'm late," Arcton panted, walking towards the rest of the group, a nervous smile on his face.

"You're always the last one, Arcton," Blaze chuckled jokingly, gently shoulder-barging Arcton.

"Hey, I was just behind Spyro! I wasn't _too_ late!"

"Arcton is right on that one, Blaze," Spyro replied, his voice somewhat stern. "Give him a break. He's not as late as he usually would be."

"Oh, you're no fun," Blaze complained teasingly, stamping his paw on the ground as if throwing a tantrum.

"You act like a little child," Kairo scolded. "Get your act together."

"I'm no child, I'm taller than you," Blaze retorted.

"It's your attitude that's childish, Blaze."

The fire dragon just rolled his eyes, knowing he couldn't faze Kairo. The electric dragon's scolding was natural to him, being so stern a character, and he didn't laugh much, but everyone knew he still had a sense of humour and would let out a few chuckles every now and then. They'd still yet to see him in a fit of laughter however.

After they calmed themselves down, Spyro grabbed his pawball out of the satchel around his shoulder and dropped it to the ground.

"Alright, let's get playing. Who should be teamed up with who this time?" the purple dragon inquired.

"I'd like to verse against Spyro," Kairo suggested. "Especially since we're on the same team in the actual league, so I reckon it'd be good to play against each other. Plus, I haven't played with Blaze in a while."

"Honestly, I agree with that too," Spyro said. "You good to play with Kario, Blaze? And you with me, Arcton?"

Spyro received nods from Blaze and Arcton, showing they were content with who they were being paired with. The purple dragon smiled.

"Alright then, let's start. I'll toss the ball and we'll go from there," Spyro announced.

"Guess I'm on first play," Arcton said.

"I'll join you on first play too," Kairo said, following Arcton to the centre of the field.

Arcton and Kairo positioned themselves in the centre, standing directly opposite each other. Spyro stood in between the two, positioned slightly off to the side, holding the pawball in front of him. He counted down from three, throwing the ball up in the air on 'one'. Arcton and Kairo leapt up into the air towards the ball. Kairo, having more muscle and energy, propelled himself further up off the ground, reaching the ball first. He grabbed it before throwing it towards Blaze. He attempted to catch it but Spyro slammed into his side, the ball soaring over their heads.

They wrestled on the ground before Spyro managed to get free and chase the ball down as it came to a stop. Blaze however knocked Spyro's legs out from underneath him with his tail, causing the purple dragon to slam face-first into the ground.

Spyro groaned, picking himself up, before a strong grip clasped around his hind legs and began pulling him back. Spyro kicked out against Kairo's hold, but he was too strong. Arcton luckily came to his rescue; the ice dragon grabbed the larger electric dragon's shoulders and yanked him back, freeing Spyro from his grip. The purple dragon quickly got to his paws, chasing down the ball that now lay still on the ground, Blaze in hot pursuit.

The purple dragon got there first, and with a massive swipe of his paw, sent the ball flying towards the goal he was aiming for. Spyro felt Blaze slam into him, but he fought back, pushing in the opposite direction. The two dragons were evenly matched for a while, but Spyro was picking up more momentum, as he rushed ahead and swiped the paw further towards his goal.

Kairo had made his way around towards them, sprinting as fast as he could and catching up with them, intercepting Spyro and knocking the ball back towards the other end of the field. The two dragons collided, sending them both sprawling to the ground. Kairo's aim had been slightly off due to this, sending the ball soaring towards Arcton, who jumped into the air, grabbing the ball and throwing it back in the direction it had once been heading.

Blaze intercepted the ball, before making his way to the goal he was aiming for, running around the perimeter of the field opposite to Arcton, causing Arcton to have to run further to get to him. Spyro and Kairo were also in pursuit of Blaze, kicking up large clouds of dust and dirt. Blaze moved quickly along the length of the field, dribbling the ball efficiently and paws soaring across the ground. It was too late for anyone to intercept Blaze as he kicked the ball into the goal, letting out a loud roar of triumph at the feat.

Arcton rolled his eyes, grabbing the ball out of the goal and preparing to start the next round. Spyro stood a good distance away from him. Blaze positioned himself right in front of him to block him, Kairo standing beside him to push him out of the way if Blaze failed to steal the ball.

"Oh, go away, Kairo," Spyro huffed heatedly.

"We may be teammates in the league, but not now. I'll do anything to prevent you from getting that ball," Kairo replied.

Spyro rolled his eyes, before Kairo's heavy weight slammed into his side. Blaze had missed the ball, and Spyro hadn't been paying attention as the ball soared towards them. Kairo had taken the chance to knock Spyro out of the way. Kairo kicked the ball back towards the goal, but Arcton ran in front of it, catching it and throwing it to the far side of the field.

For another two hours the game went, the ball going backwards and forwards across the field, the four friends tackling and wrestling with each other. Kairo and Blaze ended up winning the game at twenty-nine goals, seven ahead of Spyro and Arcton. After the rough game was over, they shook paws, congratulating each other, before they settled outside the arena to cool off. Arcton aided with this using his ice element, cooling down the hot summer air around them.

After a few minutes, they stood and made their way to the bar just across the street from the playing field, ready for some lunch, as well as a drink. It was quite busy, only a few empty tables littering the dining area, the stools at the bar itself all taken. Each table was filled up with either couples or large groups of friends. The bar was lively with conversation as laughter bounced around it. There was one table in particular where the laughter was coming from, and it was a group of about seven dragons all cackling their heads off, yelling and laughing drunkenly, eyes red and hazy.

They found an empty table for four, before sitting down and discussing what they would order. Afterwards they went up an ordered: Spyro got some chicken, Kairo and Blaze both got pork ribs, and Arcton ordered a beef steak. They each got a bottle of wine to share between them, getting four glasses as well before they sat back down at the table, diving into conversation.

"So how have you all been coping with the recent graduation?" Spyro asked.

"Pretty good so far. It's weird not having to go to the Academy every day, but I also kinda like it. I love the freedom, the fact that we don't have to wake up so early, and not being bossed around by the teachers, especially when they're Master Cyril," Blaze said, his last comment pulling a few laughs out of everyone.

"Are there any jobs that you're thinking you want to take?"

"Uhh, probably blacksmithing?" Blaze replied with a shrug. "My grandfather was a blacksmith and I caught up with him quite frequently in the smithing shed… Before he got killed during the war, that is... Plus, it's something that interests me, and I can also give into the community by making things for people. I'll have to try and figure out how I can get involved but I guess I can take some form of apprenticeship."

"I'm really unsure about what I want to do," Arcton piped up a little nervously, his voice soft. "I just… haven't really thought about it, you know? I used to always want to be a scientist as a little kid but now I'm not so sure anymore. I didn't particularly enjoy science in school."

"Well I'm sure you'll find something, Arcton," Spyro said.

"You just have to keep your eyes and ears open, and be ready for opportunities," Kairo added.

"Or look around and try to find your passion. Just like me with blacksmithing. I knew I liked it, but I only decided I wanted to do it a few weeks ago, just before we all graduated," Blaze explained.

"Well… apart from me, having graduated last year," Kairo pointed out with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't rub it in," Blaze moaned jokingly, rolling his eyes and taking a sip of his wine.

"There's nothing _to_ rub in," Spyro chuckled. "We've _all_ graduated now, so it doesn't really matter. Anyway Kairo, how's your job going?"

"Boring. It's retail, so I guess that's to be expected. I should probably try and pursue what I want to do and join the Warfang Army," Kairo replied.

"The army, huh? That's interesting," Blaze said, before adding under his breath, "Not surprised with your stern, tough manner to be honest."

"Yeah it is," Kairo said, ignoring Blaze's last remark. "I honestly reckon you'd be good at it Spyro, if you ended up joining."

"I wouldn't sign up for it unless I _had_ to. The war I fought in was taxing enough, and I was between twelve and fifteen at the time," Spyro recalled. "It'd just bring up a bunch of bad memories and events. I may have been good at hiding my fear back then, but I was terrified every day. A little twelve-year-old out in the wilderness, fighting apes and being forced to kill, after only _just_ learning that I was a dragon. It changed me a _lot_."

"You're the purple dragon, though. People are going to _want_ your help should things happen," Arcton replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I get that and I would gladly help out. I'm not the selfish type that would put the wellbeing of my city at risk. I just don't want to be in an army environment day in and day out where I'm constantly reminded of those memories."

Kairo just nodded. "You've got a fair point and I totally get that. Plus, it seems you're more suited for teaching if your new apprenticeship with Volteer at the Academy is anything to go by."

"Oh yeah, you're gonna be going back to school," Blaze laughed.

"As a _teacher_, not a _student_," Spyro clarified with a roll of his eyes. "And yeah, I'm looking forward to it. I've only actually helped supervise four classes, and it's really just watching to be honest. I won't actually start teaching for a while yet. I've been taught how to deal with the kids by Volteer beforehand and I've been watching it for the past week or two to see it in practice. From a teacher's perspective of course, not from a student's perspective."

"Well, hope it goes well whenever you _do_ start," Arcton said with a smile.

"Heh, thanks. It means a lot. Teaching elements, magic and combat has been something that has interested me for a very long time. I'm nervous about my first time teaching on my own but at the same time I think it'll be fun."

"As long as you enjoy it," Kairo said. "I don't think I'd be able to enjoy teaching. The Warfang Army is definitely what I want to go into."

"Yeah, you'd fit in well," Blaze snickered. "I mean, you're tough and always scolding us."

Kairo rolled his eyes, and Spyro chuckled. It was at this time the food started to be served to them. All four of them dug in, putting the conversation on pause for a bit while they ate their lunch. After about five minutes of eating in silence, Arcton cleared his throat, before speaking up with a hushed voice.

"Hey, would you guys be able to give an opinion on something?" he murmured nervously. "A-a-an _honest_ one, please."

"Sure, what's up?" Blaze asked through his mouthful of food.

"I, um… I… I have my eye on three different girls. And… I-I-I don't know who I want to… a-a-a-ask out," Arcton admitted, a blush forming on his bright cyan scales.

Spyro just chuckled. "First you gotta tell us who interests you," he replied. "Are they from school?"

"Y-y-y-yeah… Fairen, Terrelyn and Cerina."

Spyro nodded, taking in the names of the dragonesses. All three of them had graduated with them as well. They were _all_ very beautiful dragonesses, particularly Cerina, so Spyro could see how Arcton had fallen for all three of them. If he wasn't deeply in love with Cynder he was sure he would've ended up falling for one of them too.

"Well, last I heard, Terrelyn was already in a relationship," Blaze said, pausing to take a sip of wine. "Apparently that started a week ago."

"As for Fairen and Cerina, I'd probably start by talking to them and becoming friends with them. It's better to have a stable foundation as friends before you take the next step towards a relationship, because if you can't get along as friends, you can't expect yourself to get along as _mates_ down the track," Spyro explained. "Just get to know them, and make your decision based on who you think would be a good partner and how the friendship goes. And it has to be _you_ who chooses. No one else can choose _for_ you."

Arcton smiled, taking another bite of steak before thanking Spyro for the advice. "Thank you, Spyro," he murmured. "I'll… I'll give that a go. I just need to… find the courage to approach them and become friends with them. But yeah, thanks."

"I'm not nervous like you, Arcton, but I do get what you mean," Blaze said, receiving a scolding look from Arcton at his first comment. "I've got my eye on Zeena, and while we've been good friends over the past five or six years, I'm nervous about whether we're ready to take that step further to become boyfriend and girlfriend. I mean, _I_ want to, but I don't know how she'll feel about it, so I have to try and conjure up the courage to do so."

"Zeena, huh?" Kairo said, raising his eyebrows. "I think Spyro told me about her. Was she the one who got the best marks for the earth element practices this year?"

"Yeah. She's _really_ good with her element."

Kairo chuckled. "Then there's me who doesn't even _have_ a love interest yet, despite me being the _oldest_ out of all of us."

"I'm sure you'll find _someone_, Kairo," Arcton replied.

"And then there's _you_, Spyro," Blaze piped up. "Still the only one of us in a relationship."

"Yeah, how's things going with you and Cynder?" Kairo inquired.

"Uh… well, you know… same as usual. Getting closer, still loving each other, you know…" Spyro stammered hesitantly, a blush flaring in his cheeks, before taking a sip of his drink to try and hide it.

"Are you alright, Spyro?" Blaze questioned, looking at Spyro with concern. "You're not normally this embarrassed talking about Cynder."

"Yeah, I know. It's just…" Spyro murmured, pausing to gather his words.

"Has something happened between you two?" Arcton asked nervously, worried for his friend.

"No, it's fine!" Spyro exclaimed hurriedly, not wanting anyone to get the wrong idea. "We're still together. It's just that… It's just…"

Spyro paused as he tried to gain the courage to say the next words. His friends waited patiently for him to finish his sentence.

"I want to take the next step," Spyro blurted out, causing a few shocked gasps to come out of his friends' mouths. "I want to become mates with her. I want to propose. I just… don't know how I'm going to do that."

All three of Spyro's friends looked at each other, unsure what to say. None of them even _had_ a girlfriend, so they didn't know how to advise Spyro on how to _propose_. The step of proposal already seemed so far away from them, but they needed to say _something_. They couldn't let Spyro say something like that and reply to him with silence.

"Well, uh… congratulations, Spyro. I hope it goes well when you _do_ propose," Arcton said nervously. "Just… J-j-just get her s-s-something nice. Take her out for a fancy dinner, grab her some jewelry or something. Make it something she'll appreciate and remember for the rest of her life."

"I just don't know what to get her," Spyro admitted. "I mean, I know the type of things she likes, with her being very into painting and everything, but I get her resources all the time! What can I get that will be _different _that she'll actually _enjoy_? What can I do to make sure I don't make a fool of myself? What if she doesn't say 'yes'?"

"Spyro, don't worry about that last one, okay?" Blaze said softly, putting a paw on the purple dragon's shoulder and smiling reassuringly at him. "I've seen how close you two are. I know she loves you. She'll say 'yes', I'm sure of it."

Spyro just nodded. "Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it," he murmured. "I still don't know what to get for her though. I mean, of course I'm going to get her a ring. I think that's kind of the standard. But I'll have to find something _else_ to add onto it. I know it sounds stupid but… I don't think the ring's enough."

"If you don't find anything, just propose with the ring anyway. I reckon it'll be _more_ than enough," Kairo said. "But I'm sure you'll find _something_. I know you. You're determined."

The purple dragon sighed, smiling at his friends. "Thanks for helping me out. You're great friends," he said, voice thick with appreciation.

"It's alright, Spyro. It's what friends do. We look after each other," Blaze said with a smile.

After the deep, meaningful conversation, they finished their meals, having been left forgotten in the deep and meaningful conversation. Once they finished, they all went their separate ways, Kairo having a big family event and Arcton going off to try and begin a friendship with one of the two girls he was interested in. Blaze decided to go try and find an apprenticeship as a blacksmith, so headed off to do that.

Spyro was left alone, so having nothing better to do for once, he began to make his way home. Many dragons greeted him and bid him a good afternoon as he walked through the calm streets of Warfang. They were dragons of all sorts of different shapes, sizes and statuses. Young, fresh couples greeted him with soft, happy smiles. Parents greeted him, eyes gleaming with gratitude for sparing them and their kids from the end of the world, and their young kids jumped around, cheering him. The older ones were a bit less energetic around him, having seen him in some of the classes he was supervising with Volteer, knowing that someday he would become their teacher.

The city was so peaceful; only five years ago, the city had been in ruin, filled with only rubble and the occasional corpse, the streets barren of life. Flames had licked at the buildings, sending thick, choking smoke into the air, shrouding the city in a dark haze.

Now it was clean and bustling with life and energy, children running around, friends spending quality time together, couples finding love. Seeing this city being rebuilt was very odd to Spyro, and it still was weird even after the rebuilding. Setting his eyes on a city in peak, pristine condition every morning he woke up was something he was very thankful for.

The strangest thing for Spyro, upon the city being so freshly rebuilt, was seeing it fill up with inhabitants for the first time. It was difficult for him to adapt because the swamp had always been quiet, despite the dragonfly village and native creatures all making their noise. When the refugees had started filing into the city, Spyro had been overwhelmed just because of how many people there were. How many _dragons_ there were. He'd never seen so _many_ before. He remembered being extremely awkward around everyone, but meeting Blaze had changed that. They quickly became great friends and Spyro overcame his nerves about talking to other dragons.

He was about halfway through his walk home before he ran into Cynder in the streets, surprising the both of them. Cynder was pulling around a large cart with an easel, canvas, and multiple different paints inside it.

"Hey, Cynder. You going off to paint something?" Spyro asked.

"Yeah, I'm going off to paint the water fountain in the centre of the main square. I never really seemed to notice it there, just dismissing it as part of the surroundings. I stopped to have a look at it and it's actually really pretty, so I'm going down to paint it now," Cynder explained.

"I reckon it'd look beautiful, like all your other paintings. You really do capture the beauty of what you're painting," Spyro chuckled.

"Well… not _all_ of them. My vent paintings are pretty… dark… You should know, you've seen them."

"I'm not talking about those ones, Cynder, although I do still really like those ones. They're heartfelt and carry a lot of meaning, even if they come from a dark place. At that point in time, it's you on a canvas. Isn't that what art is meant to be? For personal pieces, it's an expression of yourself, good and ugly, and that's why I like those vent paintings, because it's still you. You're expressing yourself and you're open about these things. Well, more open than you _used_ to be, but you're actually talking about things now. You've grown so much over the past five years, Cynder."

Cynder blushed, turning her head away slightly as she smiled sheepishly. "Thanks, Spyro. I mean… we've both come a long way since the war finished," Cynder murmured.

"Yeah… we've been through a lot together. But I guess it's because of that that we have such a close relationship."

The black dragoness mumbled in agreement, stepping forward to nuzzle Spyro. The purple dragon sighed, nuzzling her back. They stepped back, staring into their eyes. Spyro lost himself in Cynder's eyes as they shone in the sunlight with a bright emerald glint. A beautiful smile was painted on her lips. He wanted so badly to hold her and kiss her, but they were right in the middle of the public, so he decided to nuzzle her again. Cynder giggled at the contact, stepping back to shoo Spyro away jokingly.

"I love you, Cynder," Spyro said lovingly. "Don't ever forget that."

"I won't. I love you too, Spyro," Cynder replied.

Hearing Cynder say those words made Spyro's heart leap for joy. Every time her beautiful voice formed those words he felt that lurch in his chest. It was such a good feeling. Not only was her voice beautiful, but she looked amazing.

If Spyro had something to give right now, he would propose at this very moment.

Unfortunately he didn't. He didn't even have the ring yet; he'd have to buy it tomorrow, since today was a non-business day. So, he swallowed the words down and just smiled at Cynder.

"Anyway, I might go home and rest up. I had a big day playing pawball this morning. Have fun painting," Spyro said.

"I will."

"Can't wait to see how this painting turns out!"

"You'll be one of the first ones to see it!"

With that, Cynder grabbed her cart of painting equipment and made her way off to the main square where the water fountain she wanted to paint was located. Spyro watched as Cynder left, staring at her with love in his eyes.

As Cynder turned the corner, his heart slowed a bit as he lost sight of her. He remained staring in the direction she disappeared in for a good ten seconds before he turned and continued his course back home. He walked in and sighed, before sitting down at his desk and grabbing some parchment. He spent all afternoon and all night trying to get ideas for what to get for Cynder when he proposed.

He ended up scribbling out most of his ideas, apart from 'ring', written at the top of the page, being the obvious and definite thing to get. He spent so long thinking about it he fell asleep at his desk.

* * *

**Well, here's the new story! I wanted to get this out when I'd written the first three chapters, and while Chapter 3 took ages to write, it's finally finished, so the story is finally here! I hope you enjoy this story, and it will be a long ride with a lot of different themes and things happening, so it'll have a bit of everything. Demonised is still in the works, but this has been something I've been planning for several months, and the idea would not leave my head when I first came up with it. So now I'm finally writing it. The first few chapters are gonna be tricky to write, and throughout this whole story there'll be sections where I'm gonna be stepping out of my comfort zone, but I got into writing fanfictions to challenge myself. I've found my strengths in Demonised and the rest of the Purple Legacy series, so now I want to try a bunch of other stuff. Specifically, as you can probably tell already, a bit of romance.**

**Also, I want to thank my good friends MysticOTDH and Just Shooter for beta-reading this story. They both make some great stuff and I have the privilege to beta-read their fics as well, so go over and check some of it out too!**

**I guess I'll see you in the next chapter! Please leave a review; I'm really interested to see what you all think of it! Bye!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Search

**[5 Mar 2020] BEFORE YOU READ THIS CHAPTER, PLEASE READ THIS A/N.**

**I rewrote the entire chapter after Dyver and Sayonara gave some very long reviews on it. I spent a long time just really annoyed with myself because I've never seen or given that much feedback/criticism on the first chapter of a story (and I'm no stranger to giving essay-length criticism). I very much welcome constructive criticism, but knowing I got that much on Chapter 1 was also a big blow and really frustrating. I'm very new to romance, slice-of-life and lighthearted scenes, especially if Demonised is anything to go with. I'm still very much learning throughout these themes specifically, so I've been working with my beta-readers to get this story looking good, because I **_**really**_** want to do this right.**

**Also, the 'amateur' and 'transition phrase' comments added to the blow. I've been writing for three years, so being called an amateur was pretty heavy on me. I know my strength in darker themes etc., and the point of this story was to experiment and try something new, so I knew it likely wasn't going to be as good as my other work, but 'amateur' was a bit harsh if I'm gonna be honest. I second-guessed this story way too many times over the past few weeks but I'm glad I had people around me to keep my motivation up while rewriting this story (as I had four chapters already written by that point). I'm feeling much better and I'm really hoping that this time around Grand Elemental Master turns out really good and holds up to the rest of my work.**

**SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, IF YOU HAVEN'T REREAD CHAPTER 1, PLEASE GO DO SO. SOME SCENES HAVE CHANGED SLIGHTLY AND SKARRZGORN HAS BEEN RENAMED.**

* * *

Light filtered through Spyro's eyes, rousing him from his slumber. The purple dragon lifted his head, his face hurting from having it resting on the hard, uncomfortable wooden desk all night. He flexed his jaw rhythmically to loosen it up a bit before stretching, forcing out a large yawn. The purple dragon shook his head to regain his bearings, his vision blurred and head spinning due to his uncomfortable sleep.

Spyro made his way groggily to the bathroom, needing a refreshing, hot bath to wake himself up. He grabbed a towel from the closet, hanging it up on the rack on the wall, before filling the bathtub with hot water. Once it was full, the purple dragon got in, sinking into the hot water with a relaxed sigh.

Once he had cleaned himself, Spyro drained the bathtub and stepped out of it, before grabbing the towel and drying himself thoroughly. He then hung the towel back up on the rack to dry before he left the room.

His stomach then began to growl in hunger, craving food. The purple dragon didn't have the appetite for meat this morning, so he instead grabbed some berries that he had bought three days ago, still fresh and ripe. He put some on a plate before he sat down at the table, grabbing a book he had been reading on elemental studies and continuing to read it while he ate.

After Spyro finished his food, he put everything away, before turning his gaze to look out the window. The sun was high in the sky and a multitude of dragons were out and about, much like usual. He realised he'd actually woken up quite late due to the position of the sun. He'd planned to spend all morning looking in the markets for a proposal gift for Cynder, and he'd wasted a good few hours of it lying asleep on his desk. It hadn't been comfortable, and Spyro wondered if it was really worth it.

Feeling rushed, he quickly grabbed his satchel full of coins, before speed-walking out of the house and making his way towards the markets, getting ready to try and find something to get for Cynder. Spyro knew the first thing he'd need was a ring, being the standard thing to get, but he didn't know what else to give her. Cynder deserved more than a ring to go with his proposal, even though a ring would be more than enough.

The purple dragon made his way into a jewelry store, looking at some of the rings on display. There was a large assortment of rings, all made of different materials and bearing different gemstones, and Spyro found he was having a hard time picking which one to choose.

Spyro just stood there, staring at the cabinet of rings before one of the staff members walked up to him, a welcoming smile on his face. He was a fire dragon, just a little shorter than Spyro, his large horns making up for the small height.

"Good morning, Spyro," the dragon greeted, pulling Spyro out of his thoughts. "Need any help?"

"Yes please. Now, I uh… I'm trying to find a ring for my girlfriend, Cynder. I'm wanting to propose soon, so… I kinda need one," Spyro explained. "Do you have any recommendations?"

"Cynder, eh? Well she's one lucky girl, ending up with a guy like you, Spyro. She deserves it," the dragon replied with a chuckle, making Spyro blush. "Anyway, what were you thinking? Something that compliments her colouring, the stuff she normally wears? Something silver?"

"Yes, I reckon so."

"Any gemstones?"

"Uh… yes, I think she'd like that. She likes gemstones. I don't know which one to go for though."

"Actually, I have something that I think she'd like. We only just got it delivered today so we haven't put it on the cabinet yet. Consider it something super special, getting it before it's even on display. I'll be right back."

With that, the fire dragon turned and left, walking behind the counter and into the back storage room. Spyro smiled, wondering what this ring would look like. He was nervous of course, wondering if Cynder would like it, but knowing how the dragon was going out of his way to grab something that wasn't even on display yet told him it was probably going to be really good.

A little time passed before the dragon returned from the storage room holding a small box. He opened it up and pulled out the ring, allowing Spyro to see it. It was a beautiful silver ring with gemstones dotted around the length of it. Spyro noticed that there were two types of gemstones on it, rather than just one like all the rest. Dotted around half of the ring were onyx gems, the other half being amethyst gems. Spyro gasped upon seeing the gems. It was as if it was made _specifically_ for him and Cynder.

He felt a tear spring to his eye as a large beaming smile pulled his lips back. "Thank you. It's beautiful. It's _perfect_!" Spyro exclaimed, his voice breaking as he imagined presenting it to Cynder.

"I just thought of it and figured it'd be a good one for you," the dragon chuckled. "I'm guessing you're thinking of getting it?"

"_Ancestors_, yes! Why wouldn't I? This is _amazing_!" Spyro exclaimed enthusiastically.

"That's great; the ring is twenty gold coins. Would you like to buy it now?" the dragon asked him.

"Of course I will. Uh… there's something else I'd like to ask first. Um… is there anything else you'd recommend me getting? I want to get something else for Cynder. Something special. Most people get their mates rings when they propose and… I don't know, I feel like Cynder deserves something more. I just don't know what to get her."

"What type of things does she like?"

"Well, she's an artist so I know she'd like some more resources, but I buy her resources all the time so I'm just… I'm just worried that it won't mean enough. That it won't be special enough."

"Hmm… Well right now I don't have any ideas. It might be a good idea to think about it and let your brain try and figure out something, but if you can't figure something out, you will still have the ring. I've seen many dragonesses get proposed to and seeing that ring revealed to them is the most precious thing I've ever watched. They see that ring and they feel so loved, so appreciated, and it is the most special thing that they could ever have dreamed of.

"Getting her something else would be great, but ideally the ring is all you need. You don't want to keep her waiting. I don't think you want to keep _yourself_ waiting either. Just give yourself time to think, maybe a week or two, and if you're that stuck that you can't think of anything, just propose to her anyway. Give her the ring. Say you love her. Ask her to marry you."

Spyro smiled, his heart lurching in his chest at the last two words, knowing he'd be the one saying them to Cynder eventually. He nodded, taking in deep breaths to calm himself down.

The dragon continued speaking. "I remember when I proposed to my mate. I took her out for lunch, we went on a little flight, and I took her to the top of a mountain that had the most beautiful view nature had to offer us," he recalled with a nostalgic sigh. "I proposed then and there on top of the mountain, surrounded by the beauty of the world, and most importantly, the beauty of the love of my life.

"Even to this day, she still tells me it was the best day of her life. She had been waiting so long to be asked and she thought she was going to be prepared, but she wasn't. When I brought that ring out, she was immediately in tears, unable to contain her joyful sobs and laughter. And now, we've been together for four years. We're also bringing our first clutch into the world, and it's such a privilege. Neither of us have any regrets.

"I don't believe anyone can be prepared for a proposal, whether you're the one asking or the one _being_ asked, but it is the best moment of _any_ person's life. Even in marriage, the two partners will continue to get closer and closer. If there's anything that sums this all up, do not take this for granted. This will be important in both your lives, and it will be the turning point from being independent to being a married couple."

Spyro nodded, taking in the information. "Thank you so much for the advice," Spyro said gratefully. "I guess I'll buy the ring now then."

The dragon just nodded and led Spyro to the counter. Spyro handed the dragon the twenty gold coins needed to pay for the ring, before the dragon handed it to him. The purple dragon put the ring in his satchel, heart racing at the fact that he'd just bought the ring. He had just bought the thing that would seal his fate as Cynder's mate, and vice versa.

Spyro thanked the fire dragon that had served him, before turning and making his way out of the store. He took another deep breath, a massive smile on his face. He had done it. He had bought the ring. He decided he would give himself two weeks to figure out what else to get Cynder, as the fire dragon recommended, but if he couldn't figure it out by then, he would take the fire dragon's advice and propose to Cynder anyway.

He knew he'd see Cynder frequently and would probably go out on a few more dates before he proposed, so he knew he would have to control himself to not say anything about the ring and not to propose to her early. He wanted to be ready. He wanted to know _exactly_ what he was doing, and if he was going to get her anything else or not. He had to know what else he was going to get her.

The purple dragon started to make his way home, stopping at some other market stalls to get some groceries and food supplies on the way. After he'd bought some meat and berries, as well as some assorted fruits, he continued walking back to his house. It didn't take long before he accidentally bumped into Cynder. His heart lurched, slightly nervous because he had the ring he had just bought sitting inside his satchel. He was glad he had bags of food with him so that it looked like he had a reason to be in the markets.

"H-h-hey, Cynder," Spyro stammered, smiling nervously. "How are you today?"

"I'm doing great. At the moment I'm just grabbing some new paints. I'm running out of orange and blue," Cynder explained with her own smile.

"Good to hear you're doing well."

"Yeah, anyway how's your day been so far?"

"Uh… yeah, pretty good. Just done some shopping for some food and went looking around the markets for a bunch of other things," Spyro murmured, trying to avoid mention of the ring.

He hoped Cynder wouldn't ask about what those 'other things' were, and luckily she didn't inquire further. "That's good. At least your getting your butt off your bed and going out to do shopping and stuff," Cynder teased.

"Come on, I'm not lazy!" Spyro protested, rolling his eyes.

"Not as lazy as you _used_ to be," the black dragoness replied. "You used to slack off quite a bit while we were still in school, especially in the early years."

"I mean, you're not wrong, but… you know what, I'm not even going to keep arguing."

"Yes, you know I love teasing you."

"I was going to say I love you too much to argue with you, but that works too, I guess."

Cynder chuckled, leaning forward and nuzzling him. "I love you too, Spyro," she giggled.

Spyro felt love swell up in his chest at her nuzzle, returning it. The nuzzle lasted for a few more seconds, before Cynder stepped back, the love still lingering in Spyro's chest. He felt the need to want to spend more time with Cynder before he proposed to her, so after a small pause he blurted out, "Do you want to go out for lunch together?"

Cynder blinked at how loud he had said it, but gave him a beautiful smile and replied with a giggle, "Sure thing, Spyro. When do you want to meet up?"

"Midday at my house maybe? We can figure out where we want to go then," Spyro suggested.

"Alright, I'll meet you then. See you later!"

"You too! Hope you find those paints you need!"

"Thank you!"

With that, Cynder turned and left, leaving Spyro alone as he watched her walk off. He smiled, his heart slamming against his chest as he blushed. He was so in love with her, his heart racing a million miles an hour. He couldn't wait to propose.

The purple dragon had to force himself to turn around, unable to take his eyes off his beloved, before he one again continued his way back home. Upon arriving, Spyro quickly grabbed the ring out of his satchel, placing it in the back of his bedroom cupboard, before heading down to the kitchen and putting all the food away. He took a bit of time to relax, knowing that it wasn't quite midday and Cynder still had to grab her paints and take them home.

Spyro spent a bit more time thinking on what to get Cynder for the proposal, but once more he discovered that he couldn't think of anything, so he really just ended up lying in bed for twenty minutes before Cynder knocked on the front door.

Spyro got up, grabbing his satchel, and ran to the front door, opening it for her. The black dragoness was smiling brightly when he opened the door. "You ready to go?" she asked the purple dragon. "I'm thinking... Dalgûr's Diner for lunch. How does that sound?"

"Sounds great, Cynder," Spyro replied. "Let's go."

With that, they left, Spyro closing the door behind him. They made their way to Dalgûr's Diner, a restaurant located nearby. The young couple indulged in conversation on the way there.

"So how did the painting go yesterday, Cynder?" Spyro inquired. "I believe you were painting the water fountain if memory serves me correctly."

"Yeah, and it's actually pretty difficult. I find water hard to do, with all the reflections and everything, especially the way it sprays out of the fountain. It's never a consistent shape because it's liquid, so I have to innovate and make it up," Cynder explained. "There were _lots_ of times where I was worried I would mess up."

"I'm sure it looks beautiful, Cynder," Spyro replied.

"Thank you Spyro, but you think everything I paint looks great. It's probably just because you can't paint," Cynder said with a shrug.

"That's not why at all, Cynder. I love you and I love your artworks. I couldn't care less that I can't paint. The paintings are one-hundred percent you. Art is a part of you put onto a canvas, and that's exactly what you do."

Cynder just chuckled, shaking her head. "Thank you, Spyro. I really appreciate it," she said.

Spyro moved towards Cynder and nuzzled her as they walked, and she returned the favour, wrapping her tail around the purple dragon's. "It's my pleasure, Cynder. I love you," Spyro said.

"I love you too," Cynder replied with a chuckle.

They broke the nuzzle, before continuing to walk side by side. Cynder seemed to speed up, walking in front of Spyro. The purple dragon slowed, before coming to a complete stop as he stared after her, rendered speechless by her frame. It wasn't long before Spyro realised he'd spent the last five or so seconds just staring at her, blushing as he ran forward to catch up with her.

"Too distracted, Spyro?" the black dragoness teased, knocking into him with her hips. "The good stuff's at the _front_, or don't you like my face?"

Spyro just stuttered, his blush flaring up even more. His cheeks felt like they were on fire. If it wasn't for Cynder bursting into laughter as they walked beside each other, Spyro would've thought he was in _big_ trouble.

"I'm just teasing you, Spyro," Cynder giggled. "No need to be worried."

"Uhh, thanks Cynder," Spyro murmured, still a little embarrassed by what had just happened.

They turned the corner and made their way into the restaurant, grabbing a table for two and sitting down inside one of the booths along the side of the restaurant that was free. Dalgûr's Diner was bustling with energy and conversation as people did community with each other over a good lunch, most of the booths full and a decent amount of larger tables full as well.

Spyro and Cynder discussed what they were going to eat, before ordering their food when the waiter came around. Spyro ordered chicken with creamy mushroom sauce, and Cynder got venison steaks with mushroom, potatoes, and blackberry sauce.

"So Cynder, have you been doing any other painting apart from the water fountain you painted yesterday?" Spyro questioned once the waiter turned and left.

"Not really, to be honest. I haven't been getting a lot of sleep recently so I kinda slept in this morning," Cynder replied with a chuckle as she scratched the back of her head.

"How come, Cynder? Are you doing alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just stressing quite a bit. I mean… we've just graduated from the Academy and… well I'm not entirely sure what to do now. I feel like I'm just sitting here, waiting for the next step to come. I'm not sure what to do about it."

Spyro gulped. He knew Cynder was talking about life in general, but his mind took it as a plea to get him to hurry up and propose. He didn't want to keep her waiting, but he needed that something special for her. He needed to make this the most special proposal ever. Two weeks, the dragon at the jewelry store had said. Just give it two more weeks…

"Uh… well I reckon just… keep doing what you're doing and… you know, keep your eyes and ears open for any opportunities that come your way," Spyro explained nervously, hoping he was saying the right thing. "And hey, at least you're making money with some of the painting commissions you do. There aren't a lot of artists around so I'm not surprised you're getting a few commissioners. You might get more later down the track. Who knows?"

The black dragoness just murmured in agreement, nodding her head. "Thanks for the words, Spyro. They mean a lot," she replied with a smile. "Also, how's your apprenticeship with the guardians going? You don't talk about that a lot; I'm interested as to how it's going."

"It's going pretty good so far. I'm learning a lot from watching Volteer teach, and I'm excited to start teaching, although I'm nervous about it at the same time. I don't think I'm ready to get started _quite_ yet."

"I'm sure you'll do fine."

"Ancestors I just remembered I have a meeting with the guardians this afternoon too!" Spyro groaned with frustration. "It's not for a while though so we're fine to take our time here, but I'm a bit annoyed I forgot. I wonder what that'll be about."

"Whatever it is, I hope it goes well."

"Thanks, Cynder."

At this point, some moles came out with their food, placing it in front of them and wishing them a good time and an enjoyable meal, before they all turned and left. The two dragons thanked them before they dug into their food. They enjoyed it a lot, even allowing each other to have a taste of their meals.

When they finished eating, they stood, stacking up their plates to make it easier for the waiters to clear the table, before heading to the counter and paying for the food. Afterwards, they walked out of the restaurant, wide smiles on their faces.

"So when was your meeting with the guardians?" Cynder questioned as she looked to Spyro.

"It's not for a little while still; we said late afternoon, so… did you want to go on a flight together?" Spyro suggested.

"Sure. I've got time to fill in this afternoon too. It's pretty empty for me. Plus, I like a good flight, especially with you."

Spyro smiled at Cynder's words. The black dragoness smiled back, before leaning forward and kissing Spyro on the cheek, before she quickly unfolded her wings and propelled herself up into the air, using her wind element to aid her, as well as an attempt to throw Spyro off his paws. The purple dragon was shaken due to the outward gust of air Cynder had made, but recovered quickly and took to the skies in pursuit.

He flew quickly in an attempt to catch up, but Cynder was using her wind element to propel her forward, allowing her to fly faster than Spyro was. The purple dragon quickly noticed he was falling behind and gave a frustrated groan. "Cynder, slow down! I'm falling behind here!" the purple dragon exclaimed.

Spyro could hear Cynder laughing as she continued flying speedily for a few more seconds, before she spread out her wings to slow herself down, catching the air to bring her back to Spyro. Once she was side by side with Spyro, she resumed flying, this time at a slower pace so that Spyro could keep up.

"That's cheating, using your wind element. I'm fast but not _that_ fast," Spyro huffed.

"Oh, _relax_. A little race can't do any harm," Cynder replied with a scoff.

"You were flying faster than me!"

"So? Not everyone can fly or run at the same pace. Plus it just means I'm more agile and quicker in the air."

"You were using your wind element!"

Cynder gave a low chuckle as she rolled her eyes, smirking at him. The black dragoness moved herself closer to Spyro, before bumping into him and causing him to wobble in the air slightly. "Don't worry about it, Spyro," Cynder chuckled. "It was just a little game. Now since we're on this flight, how about we focus on it? Just me and you, up in the sky."

The purple dragon rolled his eyes, but was smiling nonetheless. They flew out of Warfang, flying over the vast, lush green plains that surrounded the city. Spyro and Cynder saw this view a lot, but it was still just as beautiful every time they flew over it. The sun was bright, the sky a bright blue, devoid of clouds, and the occasional sound of birdsong that reached their ears from the distance made them smile. Plus, they had each other.

Spyro took his eyes away from the landscape, turning them towards his girlfriend. Cynder's dark scales shimmered in the sunlight, and her emerald eyes seemed even greener than the grass below them. The black dragoness smiled gleefully, lips pulled back slightly to reveal bright, glistening teeth. Her wings were large and graceful, accented by the smooth, careful flaps they made to keep her in the air. Her long, slender tail swished in the air, buffeted slightly by the wind.

Everything about Cynder was perfect. Everything about Cynder was _beautiful_. Every scale, every bone, every curve. Ever laugh. Her laugh was easily his favourite thing about her. It sounded like music.

Spyro would not wish for anyone else in the world.

Sure enough, it was Cynder's laugh that brought Spyro out of his stupor. "That's twice today you've taken a liking to my tail section, Spyro," the black dragoness teased with a hearty laugh.

Spyro blushed, immediately tearing his eyes away, staring down at the ground with embarrassment. "I was just admiring you…" he murmured.

"My tail section?"

"No, _all_ of you."

Cynder's only reply was another laugh, causing Spyro's blush to flare up even more. His cheeks were hot and his voice was small when he spoke. "Stop making fun of me, Cynder," the purple dragon murmured.

"Don't worry about it, Spyro. It's fine. I don't mind it, really. You're my boyfriend, and you've been a great one at that. You're supportive and caring, and you've gotten me through a lot of grief, especially in my early years upon trying to join a normal society. You've been amazing, Spyro, so I thank you for that."

Spyro smiled, his heart melting at Cynder's words. "Thanks," he replied.

Cynder giggled, before moving a bit closer to him and whispering in his ear, somewhat seductively, "I will say though, save the looks until we're mates, honey."

Spyro froze, blushing again, causing Cynder to burst out laughing once more. "You're so hilarious when you're embarrassed, Spyro!" Cynder exclaimed. "It's so cute!"

"I'm, uh… flattered? Thank you?" Spyro stammered, unsure how to reply to that.

"Ever wonder why I like teasing you so much?" Cynder chuckled, before she calmed herself down with a sigh. "Thanks for the date today, though. Every single one has been so enjoyable. I love spending time with you, especially when we get to go on flights like this."

"So do I," Spyro replied.

If only she knew how much time he wanted to spend with her. He wanted to spend his _life_ with her.

"Anyway, we've been flying for a bit. Should we be heading back now? After all, you do have that meeting with the guardians," Cynder suggested.

"Yeah, I reckon that'd be a good idea. Don't want to keep them waiting," Spyro replied.

With that, they turned around, making their way back to Warfang. They flew slowly, enjoying every moment with each other, surrounded by the beautiful landscape. Spyro spent a bit more time while they were flying back thinking on what to get for Cynder, but alas, still couldn't settle on anything. He'd come up with a lot of things before thinking they wouldn't be enough and ditching the idea completely. He often thought back on the same thing twice, second guessing himself before once more deciding it wouldn't work.

They eventually arrived at Warfang, and Cynder decided to walk with Spyro to the Warfang Temple to keep him company on the way there. When they arrived, the couple said their goodbyes, exchanging a brief kiss on the lips, before Cynder turned and made her way back home. Spyro sighed lovingly, before making his way into the Warfang Temple and to the meeting he had with the guardians.

* * *

**Anyway, hopefully this chapter is any good. I've been stressing over Chapter 2 a lot, knowing I messed up on Chapter 1, but I'm still writing this and want to get this out there. I'm really proud of the idea I've come up with, and it's not something I'm used to writing. It's different and out of my comfort zone, so I hope I do well and that people enjoy it.**

**...**

**Before I respond to reviews individually, thank you to everyone who reviewed and supported the fic, especially IllusionMaster17. Those words of support were needed. And to Dyver and Sayonara, who I mentioned in the A/N before the chapter, the new and improved Chapter 1 should hopefully be enough of a response for you. Hope you're satisfied with it now.**

**TARDIS1039:**** Yeah, I really wanted Cynder to pick up a hobby in this story, and thought painting would be something interesting. Glad you liked it!**

**Dragon of Mystery:**** It's so good to see that you're reading this story; you've provided some really interesting opinions on some stories around the place so I'm looking forward to see what you bring to GEM. Also yes, it is a bit of a break lol. Honestly, it's a welcome break, trying something new other than the constant grim sequences. They will still exist later on in this story (coz you're right, peace doesn't usually last in stories like this), but hence the T rating, it will be nowhere near the intensity of Demonised haha.**

**Glad you like the story and the world building; I love delving into characters' backstories. I enjoy creating characters and giving them a story, and it's something I love about making OCs. I also like to think I'm getting better, so hopefully that's the case. Also the pattern of Spyro/Cynder being artistic was completely unintentional lol. Didn't think of it but I'm honestly kinda happy it turned out like that. And hope you enjoy Demonised too! Feel free to drop a review on it when you're caught up!**

**Derick Lindsey:**** Yes, _very_ much a 180 after the most recent chapter of Demonised. Pretty intense lol. Writing Spyro like this was a bit different but very much enjoyable, and he will be the hero of the story this time around. Also that comment about Flash is golden. So ironic, and got me laughing quite a bit. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter man.**

**IllusionMaster17:**** Thanks for the review, and really happy you enjoyed it, even in the sorry state the chapter was in. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**...**

**Anyway, thanks so much for reading, and a huge thanks to MysticOTDH and Just Shooter for beta-reading this chapter. They've helped a lot, and GEM should be better because of it.**

**I'll see you all in the next chapter, so take care and leave your thoughts!**


	3. Chapter 3: Flying Solo

The purple dragon sighed, closing the front doors to the Warfang Temple, the ancient hinges creaking as they moved. Spyro looked around his surroundings at the foyer once again, the architecture amazing him like it did every time. He knew it was predominantly moles that had worked on building this, although the occasional earth dragon had helped, and it impressed him knowing those little creatures could build something such as this.

Large pillars stretched up to the tall roof, made of marble just like the smooth, stainless floor. The walls were carved with meticulous patterns and details that added to the pristine appearance of the Temple's interior. There was a long line of portraits that hung on the walls, all bearing the faces of guardians, present and past. At the end of the line were the portraits of Ignitus, Terrador, Volteer and Cyril, all standing firm and regal. A soft sigh escaped Spyro's lungs as he looked at Ignitus' portrait, before he moved on, turning towards the meeting room and walking in.

"Good afternoon, Spyro," Terrador greeted as the purple dragon walked in, a smile on his face as he lifted his gaze from the book he was writing in. "Glad to see you could make it."

"Good afternoon, Masters Terrador, Volteer and Cyril," Spyro responded, lowering his head in a respectful bow, his smile wide and exposing his teeth.

"You appear to be absolutely ecstatic, Spyro," Volteer said quickly and enthusiastically, noticing the purple dragon's beaming smile and the way he held himself tall.

"Yeah, I just got back from a date."

"Another one, eh? Ancestors, you and Cynder are going out a lot more frequently," Terrador said with a chuckle. "Not that that's a bad thing, however. It's great. I'm happy for you two. I just wonder if you've… you know, ever thought that… maybe it's time to take that step further? You two _have_ been together for quite a while now."

Spyro smiled even wider. "Funny you bring that up, Terrador… I literally just bought the ring this morning," he announced with a slight blush, causing all three guardians' eyes to widen in surprise and excitement.

"I see. When are you going to propose?" Cyril questioned, an eyebrow raised.

"I'm not sure yet. I want to get her something else to make it extra special, but I don't know what it'll be quite yet. I talked to the dragon at the jewelry store and he said to give it some time to let the ideas float around, but if it's taking too long, then I should just ask her. I mean, I have the ring. I'm giving myself two weeks, and then I'll just go and ask her."

"With everything you've done for her, Spyro, I don't think she _needs_ anything more. You were the first one to ever welcome and accept her following her liberation from Malefor's devilish, fiendish, heinous control," Volteer stated. "To her, I think that's _more_ than enough."

"Still, I feel like I need to get something extra special for her. Plus, that was also eight years ago when I freed her; I think it needs to be something new and fresh."

"Well, like you said, give yourself the two weeks. If you can't think of anything, just go to her, show her the ring, and propose," Cyril suggested. "I have a feeling she'd be just as happy with just the ring, Spyro. She loves you. A lot."

"A proposal is a very special, memorable, extraordinary experience, Spyro," Volteer added. "It is a moment, occasion and event that everybody waits their whole life for. Both partners of the relationship anticipate this incredible, exquisite, beautiful moment for an extended time, and when it arrives, they are always absolutely and undoubtedly euphoric. This is especially more so for the dragoness in the relationship, as they grow up wanting to nurture and raise a family.

"I remember vividly, distinctly, strongly, when I proposed to _my_ mate. She couldn't stop crying, but she also couldn't stop smiling. She was ecstatic, euphoric, jubilant… So many emotions were flowing through her, but ancestors, it was a happy marriage. I strongly believe it will be the same for Cynder."

"A mate?" Spyro questioned. "I didn't know you had one, Volteer."

"She passed away a few years ago. Despite it happening in the war, she died of illness. It was a peaceful death, rather than one of violence and bloodshed. Unfortunately we had no offspring, but I'm thankful for the time I got to spend with her," Volteer explained, his eyes distant as he thought back to his deceased mate. "But that's enough about me and my mate, Spyro. This is about you and Cynder. Proposing is an important part of everyone's life. I can't wait to see you take Cynder's paw in marriage. I'm stoked, ecstatic, speechless…"

"You're far _from_ speechless, Volteer," Cyril groaned, rolling his eyes. "No need to bore Spyro of your stupid love stories."

"You're just jealous because you're the only one here that's been single their whole life," Volteer retorted, causing Cyril to go a bright shade of red, and Spyro to smirk at the ice guardian. "Plus, I'm trying to help our purple friend here."

"Fair enough…" Cyril murmured with a roll of his eyes. "You didn't have to mention I was the only single one…"

Spyro chuckled at Cyril's embarrassment, before smiling thankfully at them, gratitude gleaming in his violet eyes. "Thank you for the words and advice guys," he said. "It means a lot."

"It's our pleasure to help, Spyro. Anytime," Terrador replied. "Now, onto the task at hand involving your apprenticeship as the elements teacher with Volteer. He had a suggestion and he wanted all of us here so we could talk about it and organise it properly; after all, us guardians work pretty closely even outside of our general areas. I think you know that by now."

Spyro nodded, remembering one time where Terrador had needed to help Cyril out with one of his history classes. "So Master Volteer, what's this suggestion of yours?" he asked.

"Well Spyro, I've given this matter a long, excruciating amount of time to formulate inside my brain, but I suppose that you are prepared, equipped and qualified enough to… 'fly solo', in a sense. Over the past few weeks since your graduation, I think you are ready to tackle your very first elements class on your own," Volteer explained.

Spyro blinked, stepping back and stammering wordlessly as this surprise task was sprung on him. He was ready to actually teach on his own? Sure he'd be supervised by Volteer to make sure he's doing everything right, but on his own? He didn't seem to think he was ready, but apparently Volteer did for some reason. That didn't make a lot of sense to him at all. "But… _I_ don't think I'm ready, Master," Spyro replied, voicing his thoughts nervously. "I've only been in this apprenticeship for four weeks."

"I honestly agree with Volteer, Spyro," Terrador responded, giving the purple dragon a reassuring smile. "Cyril and I may help you and Volteer out with preparation from time to time but we haven't actually seen you in the classroom, but Volteer tells us that he thinks you're pretty competent, know what you're doing, and would be able to start teaching. You know how to handle the students, are mature and responsible, and you've watched Volteer teaching for a decent amount now, outside of your own schooling of course. And knowing you, I'd gather that you're ready even _without_ seeing you in the classroom."

"Anothing thing I also presume is that the students will appreciate the assistance and teachings you would provide to them, especially since you possess all four of the natural elements," Volteer added. "I may contain a multitudinous abundance of information and extensive knowledge on fire, earth and ice, but I can only understand so much. You, on the other paw, can command, manipulate and operate those three elements as _well_ as my own birth element, lightning. Such knowledge originating from someone who _wields_ all four elements would be an absolute, outright, unadulterated _blessing_ and inspiration to the children."

Spyro just nodded in response. Volteer was right. The electric guardian knew a lot about all of the other elements, especially as he was a scientist and did lots of elemental study before he became a guardian, and even now he still did many studies on the different elements. However, since he could not put the other elements into practice, there was still a limit to how much Volteer could truly know.

The guardians could sense Spyro's nerves as the purple dragon took a deep breath, staring at his paws. "Don't worry about it, Spyro," Cyril said calmly, stepping forward and putting a paw on the purple dragon's shoulder. "We were all nervous when it was our first time teaching as well. But Volteer will be there to help you, and Terrador and I are giving up our time to help you and Volteer plan, as well as giving you tips for when you actually get into the class."

Spyro smiled. "Thanks guys. I really hope I do well," he muttered.

"You'll do absolutely fine," Terrador said. "We're also letting you do classes with the younger hatchlings because while the teenagers would also appreciate your advice and knowledge, they can be a bit more prone to screw about, being the rebellious, inattentive creatures they are. Plus, they're further through their elemental journey so there may be more difficult things to work with. We'll pit you with the teenagers later, when you're more experienced."

"Hmm…" Cyril muttered thoughtfully, before bringing up something Terrador had said with a light-hearted, banterous chuckle. "Rebellious, inattentive, and prone to screw around… I remember _you_ were like that in my classes, Spyro."

"Yeah, well no one likes history and mathematics, Cyril," Spyro scoffed in reply.

"It wasn't just Cyril you were like that with, Spyro," Terrador retorted jokingly. "I believe you were like that for all of us: you were fairly free-minded and boisterous in physical education and combat with me, and I remember Volteer telling us that you would get bored as hell in elements class at some points."

"Well, my behaviour got better, didn't it? I was sixteen when you guys got me started in the Academy, and after fighting in the war, physical education didn't give me anywhere near as much adrenaline, and the elements and combat classes were really simple and easy."

"Nothing gives you more adrenaline than fighting in war, and of course it was simple stuff in elements and combat classes: you had more knowledge than all the other kids because you had to fight in the war, and we had to teach you complex abilities at such a young age," Cyril scoffed. "You were twelve when we taught you all that stuff, remember?"

"I know, but I was better behaved by the time I was eighteen!"

"Still fell asleep in history quite a bit…" Cyril mumbled under his breath, but no one heard him as Terrador spoke over the top of him.

"Whatever," the earth guardian chuckled. "Our point is, the little ones should be a bit less rebellious. They will still be a pawful as they can be very easily distracted, but younglings are eager to learn and will do what they're told. They will usually listen a lot more than an older group would."

Spyro just rolled his eyes. "Anyway, let's get onto planning, shall we? How old are the younglings I'll be teaching?" he asked.

"About three or four, so they'll be starting to understand the absolute basics of elemental practices and procedures, if they haven't already figured it out themselves, or if they've been taught, tutored or coached early by their parents, because it _does_ occur occasionally," Volteer clarified.

"Basics? I'm not sure if I can teach that… I barely remember how I learned each element myself. They kinda just… happened."

"To be fair Spyro, you were also twelve when you learned how to use your elements for the very first time. You were long overdue for unlocking them."

"Agreed. Now let's go through what we're going to be doing for this class," Terrador said.

"So, for this assembly of younglings, it is their first time using their elements, so they don't even really understand how to unlock them properly yet, so you'll have to assist in teaching, coaching and training them how to do that," Volteer explained. "Now, do you remember and recall how beginners and younglings would access their element for the very first time?"

"Kind of…" Spyro said slowly. "My childhood is a bit of a blur and I guess it all kinda just… happened? Maybe because I was so old when I first used my elements that they just came out?"

"Well, can you describe what you _do_ retain knowledge and understanding of?"

"Okay, um… I remember fire kinda comes from our raw emotion and inner rage; whether we are actually angry or not there is always some form of anger lying dormant within us, waiting to be fed, like fire. It could be a small, peaceful flame but could suddenly go out of control into a raging inferno," Spyro recalled. "Uh… electricity. That one comes from a place of control, as electricity cannot be controlled properly without proper focus. Inside us there's a spark, and we have to control it to be able to bring forth the electricity. Earth comes from a place of strength and firmness as we must strengthen ourselves like the earthen structures and formations we create. Ice is an element of calmness, allowing us to be cool and cold like the ice we bring forth within us, unlike the wild heat that fire wields."

"Impressive, extraordinary, remarkable job. Remember that for your class. Inside every dragon there is that piece of them that dwells within, waiting to come out. You've gotta encourage and push them to unlock it and bring forth that power into a physical form," Volteer instructed. "Once they have unlocked their elemental powers, then you can begin to aid them in improving their skillset and expanding their mastery in their element."

Spyro nodded in response. "You know, that reminds me… I never actually properly learned the elements the same way these kids are. They kinda just… burst out of my mouth and I had no idea why. I still don't."

"Well, you recall how I mentioned that their elemental power dwells within us, lying dormant and inoperative, waiting to come out? As we grow, so does our power, even one that hasn't been released yet. My hypothesis is that after lying dormant for twelve years, your elements had developed to become powerful enough that they forced themselves out. Also, you're a purple dragon and wield _four_ elements, so your combined power was _already_ overflowing."

The purple dragon blinked. He hadn't thought about his elements forcing themselves out like that. He was long overdue for using them, as dragons normally first use their elements at the age of three or four. Just like the kids he would be teaching. Alone.

Spyro shivered as the pressure washed over him again. He was going to be teaching a bunch of hatchlings about their elements, without constant aid from Volteer. The guardian was giving Spyro free reign over the class, not interfering unless he had to. And that was nerve-wracking, putting Spyro on edge.

"You'll be fine Spyro," Terrador said, sensing the purple dragon's nervousness. "We were all nervous for our first time teaching, as Cyril said a while ago, so don't worry about it."

"You may have been, but _I_ wasn't," Cyril scoffed proudly, puffing out his chest.

"You stammered so much I thought you were going to throw up, Cyril," Terrador deadpanned. "I'd never seen you so nervous before, and I still haven't."

Cyril just blushed, before growling angrily at Terrador and turning his face away. Spyro couldn't help but laugh in response. "Ancestors, how I _wish_ I could've seen that," he chuckled.

Terrador and Volteer also began to laugh as Cyril sat with an exasperated expression, huffing furiously, cold mist billowing from his nostrils. "Alright, alright, can we get back to the task at hand now? I _believe_ Spyro needs to know what he's doing for his lesson, am I right?" Cyril groaned.

"Yes," Volteer said. "First things first, you will properly and formally introduce, announce and familiarise yourself to the class of younglings, as you will be their instructor for the duration of the lesson. Then you will explain and demonstrate to the students how they can easily access and unlock the elements they wield and possess, instructing, teaching, informing everyone on what to look for, being specific for each of the elements. If they require your assistance, be present to help aid them."

"Understood, Volteer," Spyro said, despite trying to keep up with the excessive amount of synonyms that the motormouth was dropping.

"Are you _sure_ you got all that, Spyro?" Cyril joked. "Do you need me to restate it to you in plain common tongue so that _everyone_ can understand?"

"Cyril. Enough," Terrador boomed. That was all that was needed to make Cyril shut up.

"Anyway, I believe that should be all you require to be able to teach your class in a few days' time, Spyro," Volteer said, straining hard to try and use less adjectives, feeling the pressure from Cyril get to him. "I'll provide you with some quality time to contemplate, ponder and reflect about it so you can prepare and equip yourself for the lesson. If you have any questions, inquiries, problems, be sure to consult me or the other guardians, and remember that I'll also be present while you're instructing the younglings."

Spyro nodded, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. "Thanks, Volteer," he replied.

"You're welcome. How does… two days sound?"

"Yeah, that'll be good; I should be able to get myself mentally ready over tonight and tomorrow for it."

"We're all rooting for you, Spyro. You got this," Cyril said.

Terrador just gave Spyro a calm authentic smile. The smile was enough from the hardened dragon for Spyro. It meant a lot.

"Thank you guys," Spyro said gratefully. "I'm flattered that you all think I can do this."

"Coming from someone who knows what it's like to be nervous on their first time teaching, you'll be absolutely fine, Spyro," Cyril said firmly, before grumbling under his breath as he cursed Terrador for speaking about that aloud.

The other dragons just chuckled. Cyril huffed in response, averting his gaze from the three of them. "Anyway, meeting dismissed," Terrador boomed. "You are free to go, Spyro."

"I'll see you later guys. Thanks for the opportunity too," Spyro said, before turning with a wave of his wing and walking out the door.

"Wishing you all the best for your proposal as well, Spyro!" Volteer called. "I'm thrilled, excited, delighted…"

"That's enough, Volteer," Cyril groaned.

"You're just jealous, envious and resentful because you don't have a significant other to propose to and call your own," Volteer snapped back with a smirk.

Spyro snickered and shook his head, overhearing the new argument pick up behind him as he left. He walked back into the open streets of Warfang with a large exhale, partly filled with nervousness for the lesson in two days' time, partly with excitement for getting closer to his dream job of teaching young dragons how to harness their elements, and partly with relief that he was out of the meeting.

The advice the guardians gave him on the issue of his proposal was somewhat helpful too. He smiled, thinking about the guardians advice. And not just from today, but all the way back to when he started fighting in the war. The guardians were wise and had great advice. Spyro was thankful for that.

But, there were a few things about the guardians that he wished were different. The first was their authoritative side. Being so used to being in power, they sometimes let that authority control them, and it especially seemed to happen to Spyro during the war, making a young child fight a war they as skilled adult dragons could not fight. Spyro had been willing to fight, but they'd kind of made him do all the work. The only time the guardians ever got involved was when Cynder attacked him after he'd saved Terrador at Munitions Forge, and when the golem ravaged Warfang, all throughout the end of the war.

They'd all gotten involved in those moments when the time called for it, but Ignitus was always the first one to go in. He was the one that intercepted Cynder at Munitions Forge, and he had even gone so far as to sacrifice himself. It was a noble sacrifice, but it hurt Spyro a lot, especially as he had been very much a father figure to the purple dragon. He'd believed in him, more than anyone ever had.

Another thing he wished could be improved in the guardians was the fact that they sometimes thought down on themselves. He supposed it was a reason why the guardians suddenly stopped getting involved in the war, believing Spyro, a mere child, could do more good than they, a group of highly skilled adult dragons, could.

They even had their own individual doubts quite often too. The purple dragon remembered Terrador believing he was a failure after Ignitus' passing. Volteer was often very self-conscious and nervous, especially due to constantly getting picked on by his own fellow guardian to shut up and use simple, understandable language. Cyril was just lonely, having no one to love quite yet.

Despite all this however, Spyro still loved the guardians. They were the first dragons he met, and his friends. It was weird calling such highly-ranked dragons 'friends', but then again he was also ranked high on the social chain, being the 'purple dragon of legend', as well as having spent most of his late childhood with them. They worked closely together and looked after each other. Spyro was pretty close with the guardians, and he hoped nothing would take that friendship away from them.

Finally, after a long walk lost in his thoughts, he returned home, walking inside with a yawn. Just even thinking about the lesson had taken a lot out of him, and on top of that, his incessant stressing over his proposal plans with Cynder this morning had also worn him out. He just wanted to rest.

He made himself a simple dinner, before walking into his bedroom after he ate. He sighed as he stared at it, feeling as if he needed something else in there. Some_one_ else in there. The more he thought of Cynder and the life he wanted to spend with her, the more he thought of sharing the same room with her, being able to snuggle up beside her, share their warmth, and love each other with everything they had.

He walked over to his bedroom cupboard, opening it and pulling out the ring he'd bought earlier this morning. He brought the ring forward and kissed it, before resting it against his snout.

"I love you, Cynder," Spyro murmured. "I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you. I _will_ propose, whether it be in a few days or when these two weeks are over, and whether I have that extra something or not. I _promise_ you. You are the best thing to ever happen to me, and should anything try and take you from me, ancestors know I will fight it with everything I have. I will never let you go."

The purple dragon kissed the ring again, before placing it back in his cupboard, keeping it well-concealed. He lay down on his bed with a sigh, closing his eyes and slowly managing to fall asleep. His dreams were calm and peaceful, filled with only two things: his dream of teaching, followed by Cynder.

* * *

"You doing alright, Spyro?" Volteer asked as he and Spyro walked towards the classroom where the purple dragon would be teaching for the very first time.

Spyro knew his nerves were showing, beads of sweat forming on his forehead and his breath heavy. His heart hammered against his chest, feeling as if it was trying to break out of his scales. The purple dragon swallowed, before letting out a nervous exhale. "Yeah, I'm fine," he replied, his voice wavering as he tried to hold his nervousness in.

"You don't appear to be fine, Spyro. Are you positively and completely certain that you will be alright for the lesson?"

"Yeah, I'll be good," Spyro said sharply, clearing his throat. "Just a bit nervous, that's all."

"All of us guardians were apprehensive, uneasy and concerned too, but believe in yourself and I surmise you'll perform amazingly, extraordinarily, spectacularly. You'll be okay, Spyro. There is nothing to fret over. I'll be present for the class anyway."

"You really think I'll do well?"

"Yes, strongly."

The purple dragon couldn't help but smile at this, feeling his nerves die down. He wiped his forehead, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down, before they arrived at the arena-shaped classroom which was also used for combat and advanced elemental classes, walking in. A group of about thirty younglings were situated inside the room, all wrestling and playing with each other. A fire dragoness stood in the middle of the room supervising them, being their daycare supervisor, and upon seeing Spyro and Volteer enter the room, she called out to them. "Okay, young ones! Masters Spyro and Volteer are here! Come and sit down!"

"Yes, Mrs Abella!" the younglings exclaimed, before running towards the middle of the wide-open room and sitting down in front of them.

Spyro's heart caught in his chest upon seeing the kids sitting in front of him. Being called 'Master' also added to the nerves. He wasn't used to being called 'Master', especially since he'd just come out of the Academy, but since he was becoming a teacher he figured he'd have to get used to it because the title would be getting used a _lot_ more frequently down the track.

"Good morning, younglings," Volteer started, as Abella stepped back to allow him and Spyro to have the spotlight, sitting up in the seating piers at the back of the arena. "Today, Spyro here will be teaching and coaching you on how to unlock and utilise your elemental powers. It is his first time teaching so please be patient and kind to him, and I hope you learn a lot from him."

The electric guardian smiled to the kids, before turning and making his way to sit next to Abella, turning his smile to Spyro and giving him a nod and a quiet whisper, "Good luck, Spyro. You got this."

Spyro smiled nervously, before taking a deep breath and swallowing his nerves. "Good morning everybody. I'm Spyro, and uh… I'm here to help you all unlock your elements. Um… so, let's get started I guess. Now, can everybody stand up and spread out please? Find your own space so you can release your elemental energy when the time comes to it, at least one wingspan away from someone else," Spyro instructed.

The younglings eagerly obeyed, doing exactly what Spyro asked as they stood and spread out their wings, making sure they were one wingspan away from each other. Some got into their position before others did, so they started to bounce up and down with excitement and chatting to each other while they waited for Spyro to start the lesson, who in turn was waiting for everyone to be ready.

Once the kids were spread out, Spyro got their attention. "Alright everyone, let's get started now," he announced. "So the first thing you all need to do is to isolate your mind. Forget about the other younglings around you. Close your eyes and focus."

Spyro watched as the younglings gave brief looks at each other, before closing their eyes, lowering their heads. Some of the younglings moved around a bit, already getting a bit energetic, but Spyro could tell they were still trying to tap into the meditative state he was trying to get them into.

"Now, inside every dragon lies a small spark of magic. It is the very centre of you and where your magic originates from. Depending on the type of dragon you are, it will feel very different. Fire dragons' magic is angry and hungry, whereas ice dragons' magic is cool and calm, even soft. Electric dragons' magic is wild and quick, while earth dragons' magic is firm and strong. Reach out and feel that magic rising up inside you. Call on it."

The younglings all stood in place, some of them squinting hard, others staying still in a calm, peaceful meditation. The purple dragon waited for a bit, giving the younglings ample time to try and find their inner magic.

After he decided it had been enough time, he spoke once more. "Once you feel your magic, focus hard on it, and guide it through to your mouth. When it rises up your throat, open your mouth and release it. Do not try and swallow the magic, and don't keep your mouth closed," Spyro instructed.

A couple more seconds went by, before the sound of a loud spark shot through the room, followed by a bright yellow light. A little yellow dragoness jolted back, her eyes snapping open, breathing heavily. Her shocked expression suddenly became one of happiness and pride. She had done it. She had breathed electricity.

Two more flashes lit the room, one green and one orange. The earth and fire dragons both had the same reaction, shock and surprise, before turning into one of pride. The fire dragon's happy look was delayed however as he had to recover from the puff of smoke that had blown into his face, causing small coughs to wrack his body. His smile returned after he'd recovered from the smoke, which still bellowed from his nostrils.

All around the room, most of the younglings seemed to be successful with unlocking their elements as brightly coloured flashes went around the room. There were three however that were really starting to struggle, and as they continued trying their hardest to unlock their element, some of the kids started staring at them, waiting for their element to burst from their maws. It seemed the pressure was getting too much for them as two of them started to give up, sitting down and opening their eyes, staring sadly at Spyro. The other, a fire dragoness, was starting to get angry, screwing her eyes up and clenching her jaws tightly.

"Hey everyone, why don't you all try again, just to practice and get used to your element?" Spyro suggested. "You three kids struggling, can you come to the side with me?"

Spyro began to move into the corner of the arena, but none of the three younglings followed him. He turned back, smiling kindly. "Don't worry, you're not in trouble. I just want to help you use your element for the first time," he assured them, lowering his head slightly as to not look too intimidating to them.

Reluctantly, the fire dragoness was the first to move, before the other two dragons, an ice dragon and an earth dragoness, followed, making their way towards Spyro. As they got together, the other kids got back to work on trying to get better at harnessing their elements.

"So, may I please ask what your names are?" Spyro questioned.

"Well, I… I'm Ervarel," the earth dragoness replied.

"I'm Cyrgus," the ice dragon added.

The fire dragoness just stayed silent, still slightly frustrated that she couldn't use her element. She pawed at the ground, not looking at him. "And you?" Spyro asked, but she still didn't answer. "Hey, I'm just here to help, alright? That's what I'm here for."

"Faadra," she mumbled.

"Okay, thank you. Now, what's going on? Anything you need help with?" the purple dragon questioned.

"I just can't feel the magic inside me," Cyrgus muttered. "I was thinking about so much other stuff and could just feel everyone watching me and I got scared."

"Alright, Cyrgus, what you need to do is try not to force it. Fear is natural, but you need to find the bravery to overcome it. Leave that fear behind you and just take deep, calm breaths, and stay cool and collected, like your element. Try and focus on your magic and only your magic. When you feel it, let it out."

Cyrgus nodded, before getting back into his meditative state. "How about you two?" Spyro questioned.

"I just can't stay still," Ervarel said.

"Well, one recommendation I have is to just stand still and focus on the ground underneath your paws. Your element is earth, so your very core is rooted to the ground underneath you. Feel that element, feel the ground," Spyro explained to the earth dragoness, before he turned to Faardra. "How about you, Faardra?"

"It just… won't come out!" she huffed, stamping her paw on the ground. "All my friends did it and my family all can use their element, so why can't I?"

"By the sounds of it, everyone else in your family is older than you, so they've already learned how to harness their element and practiced it. Now like I said, fire uses rage as a form of getting out there, whether it be an elemental rage of the fire burning within you, or an actual physical or emotional rage, which is why fire dragons have smoke bellowing out of their nostrils when they're angry, just like what's happening with you right now."

At that, Faardra seemed to get really surprised, before suddenly noticing the two trails of smoke rising from her nostrils. She blinked, excitement swelling up in her chest at the fact that she was nearly there.

Spyro chuckled at Faardra's surprise. "Now, use your rage to let out your fire, but don't let it control you. Fire can be a dangerous element, so you need to be careful with it," he clarified.

"Yes, Master Spyro," Faardra said.

_Just Spyro is enough,_ Spyro thought, but he knew it was a good sign of respect for students to call their teachers by their title, so decided not to bother with correcting her.

They sat for a little while, before all at once, the three younglings let loose their element together, earth bursting out of Ervarel's maw with a bright green flash, a decent ice missile propelling itself out of Cyrgus' mouth, and a small jet of fire from Faardra's. All three elements collided with a bright white flash, before nothing was left but smoke. The three kids sat there super happy with themselves, before Spyro instructed they head back with the rest of the students to continue practicing.

Practice went on for about ten more minutes, before Abella and Volteer stood up in their seats, making their way to the main arena ground. Spyro supposed that was his cue to finish up, so got everyone's attention.

"Alright everyone, that'll be it for today," the purple dragon announced, causing all the hatchlings to open their eyes and look up at Spyro. "Thanks for your cooperation, and good luck with learning more of your elements. Now it will be slow progress at first, but just remember to focus on the magic within you. The more practice you get, the quicker you will get at building up your elemental energy, and the easier it will be to summon your magic while thinking on other things. As you may notice, dragons like me, your teacher and the guardians can all use our elements on the spot."

"Show us, Master Spyro!" an electric dragon called out from the crowd of hatchlings. "Do something so we can see!"

"Oh, alright," Spyro said, before he took on a bit of a fighting stance. A growl built up in his throat as a snarl replaced his more friendly expression, a stream of fire following almost immediately afterwards, aimed upwards so it soared over the heads of the kids. Up next he released two ice missiles, before breathing an arc of electricity through the both of them, causing them to light up with sparks. A green flash burst from his maw as an earth missile was released from it. Afterwards he relaxed, his expression becoming more friendly again.

The hatchlings all stared at him in wonder, and Spyro especially noticed Faardra standing with awe on her face at the display of his fire element. They all started cheering and clapping, causing Spyro to blush at the applause.

"Anyway, that's all the time we have here with Master Spyro today," Abella said, walking up in front of the class of hatchlings. Spyro stepped back to give her the spotlight, as she was the one in charge of looking after them. "We'll be heading back to the daycare now, so we won't be seeing him for a little bit. Everybody say thank you to Master Spyro."

"Thank you, Master Spyro!" the kids all exclaimed, causing Spyro to smile widely. Ancestors, they were cute.

"Alright, let's go everyone," Abella said, and within a few minutes, the fire dragoness and the school of kids had all left the arena, leaving Spyro and Volteer there alone.

"Did I do good Volteer?" Spyro asked him.

"Good? You performed astoundingly well for your very first time teaching and coaching a group of hatchlings," Volteer replied.

"You really think so? Thanks, Volteer," Spyro said with a slight blush.

"You performed better than you believe you did, Spyro. You taught the kids well, especially the ones that appeared to be struggling. I believe the younglings liked you a lot. Anyway, you're free to go now Spyro. Go have a break; you deserve it."

"Thank you Volteer. I'll see you later."

With that, Spyro turned and made his way out of the academy, walking home. On the way there, he bumped into Cynder, neither of them looking where they were going. Spyro was quick to apologise, but Cynder seemed to be a lot more… on edge. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" she growled over Spyro's soft apology, baring her teeth.

She froze as she realised she was talking to Spyro, and her snarl faded to an embarrassed frown. The black dragoness hid her face, blushing. "I-I-I'm sorry, Spyro. I didn't mean to get angry," she whispered. "I… I just…"

"What's wrong Cynder?" Spyro questioned calmly. "It's not like you to snap at people like that, especially me."

"U-u-uhh… no. Nothing's wrong. I'm fine," Cynder stammered.

"Are you sure? You don't seem fine to me."

"I just… haven't been feeling well this morning. I'm fine, really. Don't worry about me," Cynder said quickly. "Anyway I'm off to the shops, I'll see you later."

"Okay… bye, Cynder."

Cynder quickly walked off in the direction she was heading, and Spyro just watched as she left, a look of confusion on his face. _That was… weird,_ Spyro thought. _I'll have to check up on her later. Somehow I don't get the feeling she wants to be near anyone right now._

The purple dragon turned and continued to make his way back home, his confrontation with Cynder still on his mind. It was odd to see her so startled like that. It was almost as if it wasn't her. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was going wrong, but he couldn't figure out what. Spyro decided he'd give her the day to be by herself, because he knew she needed it, before he went and approached her about it tomorrow. Knowing Cynder, when she was like this she needed her own personal space. Trying to butt in would do no good for her. Or for him.

Spyro wondered what had caused this sudden shift in mood. Two days ago when they had their date she had been fine. Had someone said something to her? Was she having nightmares? There were a decent amount of things that could've gotten to Cynder to get her like this.

If it was anyone in particular that had upset her, Spyro would give them a stern talking when he found out who. He hated seeing Cynder like this.

The purple dragon arrived home, flopping on his bed upon entering his room. He was exhausted. Just teaching _one_ class was tiring; he didn't know how the guardians and other teachers did it all day for most of the week, and on top of that for teenagers too. He had a larger appreciation for the teachers at the Warfang Academy after that one lesson, and all he did was teach three- and four-year-olds how to use their elements.

He supposed it was something he would get used to over time, but at the moment, he was so tired. He fell asleep pretty quickly, succumbing to his exhaustion.

* * *

**Chapter 3 is finally finished, and I hope everyone enjoyed it! This was a bit of a tricky one to do, but I still managed to get it done in a decent amount of time, and I did enjoy writing it.**

**Also it's my 18th birthday in three days so yeah; might have to spend it at home which is gonna be a bit of a bummer coz I like going out on my birthday for a good lunch, but hopefully it still ends up going really well. I also wanna say I hope everyone is faring well during this difficult time. Uni's now completely online for me, which I'm a little annoyed about because I prefer on-campus so much better, plus I've only been doing uni for five weeks and we're already online and mostly shut, so it's a little frustrating. But I hope everyone's staying safe, and hope you all find something fun to do during this time, especially with a decent amount of the world being in lockdown or isolation at this point in time.**

**...**

**TARDIS1039: Glad you loved the Spynder content! Was a bit different to write but it was kinda fun. Hope you liked this chapter, man, and thanks for reviewing!**

**Az0tAc:**** Thanks for the review! Looking forward to seeing more of your thoughts on the story in later chapters!**

**DiabloPProcento:**** Also thanks for leaving a review! Glad you're enjoying it so far! And haha, that's not a comment I usually see on my stories given their usual dark/violent nature, but yes, Spyro be coming for that booty (when he actually gets around to proposing of course hehe).**

**Derick Lindsey:**** Haha, glad you enjoy the teasing on Spyro lol. Glad you enjoyed it, and I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. Also thanks for the words, I've been stressing out a bit with this whole story in general and making it right, but I'm happy you've thought everything's been good so far.**

**Dragon of Mystery:**** Humanising lol; when I first read that I kinda had the image of dragon-turned-human appear in my head for some reason, and it was kinda funny to me just coz it's the reverse of the usual human-turned-dragon that's done (which I've also done in _Broken Perceptions_ lol). Also, happy you liked the banter in the chapter.**

**Dyverr:**** So we talked in PMs, but thanks for the review, and hopefully this chapter was good enough for your liking.**

**lord typhlosion:**** Yeah, a very different change of pace when compared to _Demonised_ lol. I've said before that _GEM_ will have some darker themes too, as well as some action sequences, although nowhere near as intense as something like _Demonised_, as this story is meant for me to experiment with romance, adventure, and a few other different scenarios that I otherwise wouldn't explore in a story like _Demonised_. Thanks for the review, and hope you like this chapter.**

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**Well, six reviews on one chapter; I'm really happy with that, so thanks everyone for reviewing! Leave your thoughts for this chapter and I'll see you all next time, hopefully with _Demonised_ if you're reading that (and if my beta gets back to me lol), otherwise I'll see you all back here for Chapter 4! See you all later, and stay safe!**


	4. Chapter 4: Uneasiness

The next day, midway through the morning, the purple dragon found himself knocking on Cynder's door. The black dragoness appeared surprised when she opened the door, but kept a smile on her face. "Hey, Spyro! Wasn't expecting you to show up!" she exclaimed.

"Sorry for arriving so suddenly, Cynder. I just have something I want to talk to you about," the purple dragon explained.

Cynder's smile faded slightly, returning to something a bit more neutral, even slightly downcast. "Huh, I have something I want to talk to you about as well," she replied, her nervousness and distress evident from her voice. "Come in. No better time than now when we're both wanting to talk to get some things off our chest."

The couple walked in, making themselves comfortable in Cynder's lounge room, lying on her couch. A few awkward moments of silence went by, before Spyro broke it. "I uh… I wanted to talk to you about yesterday. It didn't feel like you were doing too well," he explained, his voice soft with concern. "What's going on?"

Cynder chuckled drily. "Well, yesterday was _also _what I wanted to talk to you about," she replied. "I just, uh… I don't know; I haven't been… feeling like myself over the past few days. Every time I wake up I feel grumpy, I can't seem to get any happiness out of painting at the moment, and I had to try my very hardest not to snap at my friends. It all started happening the day after our date and I'm worried. I feel like I'm turning into something I'm not, and I don't know why."

"Could it be just… I don't know, stress? Tiredness? I know you get rather grumpy when you're tired. Maybe you're overworking yourself on the painting?"

"No, it's not that. I've felt extremely tired and overworked before, and this doesn't feel like it. It's not a mental thing. It feels almost… deeper. Spiritual almost. I feel like I'm changing. And I don't know what… or who… could be doing this to me."

The black dragoness shuffled closer to Spyro, burying her face in his neck and nuzzling him, reaching up and holding him firmly, a paw on his chest, the other on the shoulder she was leaning against. Spyro nuzzled her back, placing a paw on her back and stroking it gently.

"I'm just scared; I've already been through enough in my life. I'm terrified something is happening to me again," Cynder murmured with a quivering voice.

"No, Cynder. Nothing is going to happen to you. You've persevered through so much in your life. You've made it through hell and back, and I've seen you do it. If you can do it once, I strongly believe you can do it again," Spyro replied, his voice rumbling in his throat, the bass tones resounding inside Cynder's ear as she rested her head against his neck. "You are one of the strongest dragons I have ever known, after everything you've been through. I know you can get through this."

"You really think so?" the black dragoness inquired.

"Of course I do! Cynder, life is full of obstacles and challenges that cause us to jump and beat them everyday. You've had _more _than your fair share of hurt and pain, but what I see before me is a dragoness that is resilient, beautiful and talented in every way. No matter what comes your way, you get back up. If anyone can get through this Cynder, it most certainly would be you. I'm always here for you, you know that right?"

"I know. Thank you."

"It's my pleasure. I love you, Cyn."

"I love you too, Spyro."

Spyro chuckled, opening his mouth to say more, but all control of his mouth was taken away from him as Cynder's lips pressed against his own. He melted into the kiss, returning it. He revelled in the feeling of Cynder's soft lips touching his, feeling her breath enter his mouth. Their lips parted, before meeting once more after a quick breath.

With a smack of the lips, they parted. Cynder giggled sweetly, leaning back into Spyro's warmth once more. "Every time I kiss you I swear it gets better and better," Cynder hummed.

"I agree," Spyro teased, leaning forward and placing a kiss on Cynder's forehead.

She giggled again as she recoiled. "Hey, that tickles!" she exclaimed.

At this, Spyro gave a low, humorous hum as he reached forward and kissed her on the head again. Cynder started laughing, pushing against him as she let out little squeals between each laugh. The purple dragon held her firmly, kissing her again on the forehead, before moving down to her cheek. She squirmed again, her laughing getting stronger, her pleas slurred together by her laughing.

Spyro moved to her neck, causing the biggest squeal to burst from her jaws as she guffawed, tears streaming down her face as she tried to calm herself down. "Stop it please! You know I'm ticklish there!" Cynder pleaded, but Spyro just kissed her again on the neck, forcing another round of roaring laughter from her throat.

Cynder reached up, pushing her forepaws against Spyro's face, before he finally relented and pulled away. "I bet it didn't tickle when you kissed me on the lips," Spyro said with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah, I guess you're right…" Cynder said mid-chuckle as she tried to slow her breathing again. "I bet it tickled _you _though."

The purple dragon blushed, raising his eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Cynder giggled again, this time with a cheeky tone, sticking her tongue out at him playfully as he tried to get over the surprise of the joke. Spyro chuckled in response, smiling at Cynder's laugh, before he nuzzled her. She returned it.

"Thanks for the talk though, Spyro. It really means a lot to me," the black dragoness murmured. "I sometimes feel bad knowing that you've had to put up with me and my troubled past for so long. It affected me and I feel like it's working its way out on you. I don't want you to wear yourself out trying to look after me."

"Cynder, you were the first friend I ever _had_, and on top of that, you're my _girlfriend_. What type of boyfriend would I be if I didn't check to make sure you were alright? What type of boyfriend would I be if I let my girlfriend remain upset when I know something is wrong?"

"Somehow I knew you were going to say something like that," Cynder said with a roll of her eyes. "So predictable."

"You know me too well, don't you?"

"What did I do to deserve you?"

"Being there for me, and being a good friend to me, but most importantly, just being _yourself_," Spyro replied, pausing for a bit before adding quickly, "Also you're hot."

Cynder raised an eyebrow. "Glad you think that, purple boy; the feeling is certainly mutual," she said, putting on a seductive act as she batted her eyes at him jokingly. "Just think, in a little while I'll be all yours."

_Now she's trying to lure me into proposing to her,_ Spyro thought, catching Cynder's underlying message. _I need to hurry up. Maybe I should just do it…_

_Too bad the ring's at home, otherwise I probably would just say stuff it and do it right now._

"Anyway, thanks Spyro," Cynder said, her voice cutting through the purple dragon's thoughts. "I'm sorry you have to keep sitting through my low moments like this, Spyro…"

"I'm sure we'll figure it out," he replied. "We'll figure this out. We're together and we have each other. I'll help you figure out what this problem is. It'll all be fine. Don't worry."

The black dragoness smiled, giving him another thanks as he leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead again, reaching up and stroking her cheeks. They moved back, sitting in a slightly awkward silence. "Anyway, I should probably get out and about for a bit just to get my mind working on something else other than what's been going on recently," Cynder said.

"Yeah, I need to go out to the markets today," Spyro said, deciding he should take another look around the markets for something to get for Cynder.

"Alright, I guess I'll see you later then," the black dragoness replied, standing up off her couch, her boyfriend following her lead. She grabbed a satchel that was sitting on the table in front of the couch, slinging it around her neck and over her shoulder.

"See you later. Have fun, Cynder," Spyro farewelled as they walked towards the front door.

Cynder replied by quickly reaching up to Spyro's head, guiding it gently towards her as she kissed him on the lips one more time. Spyro let out a mumble of contentment, returning the kiss as he stroked her lips with his. Their lips remained in their tight embrace for a little while longer, before they pulled back. Cynder opened the door, letting Spyro walk out, before she then followed, closing the door behind her. They then went their own separate ways.

The purple dragon walked back to the markets, looking at almost every store that was there, trying to find an extra item to give to Cynder. Unfortunately, he was still struggling to find something. He spent a good two hours in the markets, and after those two hours he felt drained and a little annoyed at himself that he _still_ couldn't find anything.

All he could find that he thought Cynder would like would be more painting resources, some jewelry, or maybe even a music box that he had found, as she did like music as well, although he knew that would be way to heavy and clunky to carry around and reveal to Cynder as he proposed. The music box would've been very impractical, plus while Spyro knew it would be something Cynder would like, he didn't think it held that much extra value over the ring he'd already gotten.

_Do I really need an extra item? Are the guardians right in saying that the ring and my proposal is all she needs? Is it really that simple?_ Spyro thought. _Maybe I'm trying to prove myself too much, and do more than I need to. If… If the ring and my proposal _is_ all I need then… then maybe I can just propose now, pretty much. I'll probably wait a few days just because it'd probably be a bit insensitive to propose to Cynder while she's so upset, but… yeah I think the guardians were right. I don't need another item. I don't. I'm perfectly fine without._

With that, a determined smile on his face, the purple dragon turned and left the market, having not spent a single coin. The first thing he did when he got home was race to his bedroom cupboard and take out the ring again, looking it over with love in his eyes. This was all he needed. Just the ring, and himself. That was all he needed to present to Cynder.

He closed his eyes, his smile now one of longing, imagining Cynder wearing the ring on her talon. Cynder's beauty filled his mind, causing his cheeks to heat up. He couldn't wait to spend the rest of his life with her. The moment was getting closer now. He could almost feel it coming. The moment where she would say 'yes' and their fate as lifelong soulmates would be sealed.

Spyro raised the ring to his lips, kissing it gently, before putting it back in its case in the cupboard, keeping it safe. He sighed, before his blissful thoughts were interrupted by the growling of his stomach. The purple dragon mumbled, knowing that he hadn't eaten lunch yet.

The purple dragon made his way out to his kitchen, beginning to make himself some lunch, carefully roasting some pork ribs and creating some spicy marinade to go with it. He loved a bit of spice, enjoying the feeling of fire in his mouth. He _did_ wield the fire element, so he figured it made it easier for him to handle, and something he could enjoy a bit more, being so used to that heat in his maw.

He finished preparing his food and began eating it, savouring every bite he took, relishing the taste of the ribs marinated in the hot, spicy sauce. He devoured his food quickly, before grabbing a book and beginning to read it. He'd only read through two pages before loud knocking at his door interrupted him. Confused, and slightly shocked from the sudden loud noise grating through his quiet reading, he got up and answered the door.

Spyro's heart sank to see Cynder standing in front of him, a heavy frown on her face, looking as if she was trying to hold in tears. The purple dragon quickly stepped back to let her through, and with a relieved, shaking sigh, she rushed in. Spyro closed the door, looking at Cynder with worry on his face, and as soon as he locked eyes with her, her emotional barriers broke as the tears slowly began to flow.

"Honey, what happened?" Spyro questioned soothingly, rushing towards her and wrapping his wings protectively around her.

"I… I don't know…" she murmured.

"Is this about what happened yesterday? Is it related to the talk we had this morning?"

"Yes… kind of… I don't know."

"Let's go sit down," Spyro said, guiding Cynder gently to the couch to sit down, allowing Cynder to snuggle up next to him again as his wing hung around her shoulders. "Now, what's wrong Cynder? Is everything alright?"

"I… I went out for lunch with my friends. I decided I wanted to go and see them again, you know, to help settle my nerves and just be with my friends," Cynder started, trying to hold back her tears. "It started out fine but about halfway through lunch I started getting snappy and I'm worried I upset my friends.

"Darii just laid her eggs two nights ago, and she didn't show up so she could recover from it, and I got upset and thought for some reason that she didn't like me and didn't show up for lunch because of that, which I know is absolutely stupid. But I got into a big argument with Ruby and Ra'félin about it, and I think I hurt them. Some things were said that probably shouldn't have, especially from me.

"I feel like a terrible person. I don't know what's wrong with me. All these mood swings… sometimes I feel like myself, and sometimes I feel like someone else. Sometimes I see and then I don't see at all. Everything just goes by in a blur and I just… do. I don't think."

Spyro nodded slowly, taking all the information in. "I wish I knew what was going on with you Cynder. I want to help," he murmured, stroking her gently.

"So do I. I want to know what's going on with me as well," Cynder replied. "I don't have any explanation as to what could be going on. I've heard plenty of people say that being gravid causes mood swings, but I'm not… I… we haven't… I haven't… you know, _mated_… There's no way I could _possibly_ be gravid if I haven't even done the act to get me gravid in the first place, so… I'm just… so confused. What explanation could there be behind my problem?"

"I don't know," Spyro said. "But I'm here for you, Cynder. If you want to talk, I'm here. You can come and talk to me at any time. I love you Cynder, so I _will_ be there for you."

Cynder nuzzled Spyro, snuggling closer to him as her tears finally began to stop. "Thank you, Spyro. I'm just so confused and scared right now. I have no idea what's going on," she breathed, trying to control her emotions. "Thank you so much. You're an amazing boyfriend. You put up with so much from me and I wish I could provide the same support to you. You just support me, no matter what, whether I've given you back the same amount of support or only just a little. I love you."

"It's perfectly fine, Cynder. I just want to see you happy and alright. I'll do anything to see you in a good headspace."

Cynder hummed in gratitude, before she took in large, deep breaths to calm herself down. Spyro could tell that Cynder was clearly a bit guilty for always being so emotional around him, but he didn't mind. She was his everything, and she'd already been through enough torment in her life. She didn't need any more than she already had dealt with.

Spyro nuzzled Cynder, and she returned it, another hum rumbling from her throat, this time out of contentment. He reached up with a talon and wiped her eyes, still wet from the tears she had shed.

He was caught off guard as Cynder piped up again. "I… I'll be honest, I never expected to ever be worthy of a boyfriend, yet here I am. It's kinda funny isn't it?" she murmured, half chuckling. "I'd never known what love was until after the war, or properly at least. Even after five years of learning what it was, both before our relationship and during it alongside you, I'm still not fully grasping the idea of it. I still don't believe I'm worthy of it. But everything you do for me just… it makes me feel special, and almost like I _do_ deserve it.

"I know you're willing to help me with everything you do and with everything you have, but I fear my problems are going to be too much for you. I don't want that to be the case. I know you want me happy and mentally well but I don't want it to be at your own cost where you become upset and affected by my problems.

"So please, if it is getting too much for you, let me know. Let me know so I can get help from someone maybe more qualified. Even the guardians would have a bit more wisdom and experience. This isn't that I don't appreciate what you do, because I _do_; I just don't want you to be affected. Please, promise me you'll let me know if it's getting too much."

"I… o-o-okay, Cynder," Spyro stuttered hesitantly. "I will."

"I know you say I'm strong-willed and that I've made it through so much, but I also understand that you've been through a lot too. I can't imagine seeing me like this is easy for you. I mean, I don't think _anyone_ likes seeing people upset unless they are a sadist or hate other people, but I know with all the violence and hurt you were exposed to, especially from my side, I know you don't like seeing me upset. So again, thank you for what you do for me. I love you, Spyro. I really do."

Spyro murmured in acknowledgement, nuzzling Cynder again, before kissing her on the cheek. She giggled in amusement again as the motion tickled her, but Spyro didn't think now was the right time to smother her with tickling kisses on the cheek like earlier this morning. One was enough.

Cynder took a deep breath, wiping her eyes again and wriggling out of Spyro's embrace to stand. "Anyway, I might go now. I should probably find Ruby and Ra'félin and apologise to them. I know they were rather upset," she said.

"Alright, Cyn. Hope it goes well. Good luck," Spyro replied.

"Thanks. See you later, Spyro."

Spyro stood, seeing Cynder to the door and opening it for her, being the gentledragon he was. He sighed as she left, closing the door. She was having it tough right now. He wished there was more he could do for her. He'd spent the past five years looking after her and being there for her when she was down and upset, oftentimes caused by being haunted by her past.

But… this was different somehow. Spyro had never heard of anyone… changing… the way she described it. It was almost as if she was a completely different person when she had those outbursts, according to what she said. Such negative emotions shouldn't come out of nowhere, so what was causing it?

As silly as Cynder's gravid comment sounded, especially given the fact that she had never mated before, it _was_ a good assumption, given that they'd both heard of many dragonesses becoming grumpier and more demanding while they were gravid. Hell, Cynder had even experienced it firsthand from her friend Darii, who'd been gravid for the past few weeks and, according to Cynder, had only just laid her eggs two days ago.

But she was also right in the fact that they hadn't mated, so she couldn't possibly be gravid. Of course there was the chance that an egg she could be carrying wasn't his, but Spyro knew Cynder. She wouldn't go off and mate with some other dragon while she was still in a relationship with Spyro. She was a loyal dragoness, Spyro knew that much for a _fact_. She even said _herself_ that she had never mated before.

So what could be causing this? If it wasn't being gravid, what was it? Stress? Workload? Was something worrying her? If so, what? Were people saying stuff about her again? Were people still reprimanding her and calling her 'Terror of the Skies'?

Spyro hoped not; he'd thought that was long behind everyone in Warfang. The issues had stopped about two years ago. If anyone was talking about Cynder like that again _now_, then they had a good pummeling coming their way. No one would talk about Cynder that way ever again. Spyro would make sure about that.

He knew it was probably a silly assumption to make, but right now any of those questions could be valid answers. He didn't know what was wrong with Cynder, and he definitely wasn't spending one hundred percent of his time with Cynder so he didn't know if she _was_ still being called 'Terror of the Skies'. However if she did, Spyro knew she would tell him. The thought jumped in his head that maybe he _should_ spend one hundred percent of his time with her, but that was impractical, and could come across as clingy and creepy. Cynder was still a person and deserved her personal space and some time away from people. Just because they were in a relationship didn't mean they had to be there every second of every waking hour.

Spyro groaned. He didn't know what to do to help her. This was something very new and very unusual. Perhaps it would be a good idea to ask the guardians for their advice. They were old and wise, and each of them had mates, except Cyril. Terrador and Volteer would know how to comfort their significant others and look after them.

The purple dragon looked out the window. It was still mid-afternoon. Hopefully the guardians weren't in classes and they were at the Warfang Temple. He felt this was something he needed to ask now.

He quickly made his way to the Warfang Temple. He went to the meeting room, deciding to check it first. He sighed when he saw Volteer was inside. The electric guardian looked towards Spyro with confusion on his face, before he walked towards the purple dragon. "Good afternoon, Spyro. What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Well, Master Volteer, I have a question…"

"Ah nevermind that," Volteer piped up quickly, missing Spyro's short mumble and talking over the top of him. "I was conversing with Terrador and Cyril about your exceptional performance at the Academy while tutoring those youngsters, and we conjured the proposal that you could take the aforementioned group tomorrow in another class, if that's in agreement with you."

"I, uh… Well yes I'd be glad to, Master Volteer, but I also…"

"That's great! Wonderful! Astounding! Be sure to arrive first thing in the morning! Now I have a class to arrive at, and I am not very keen, eager, interested in being late. Those pesky, raucous teenage dragons love to poke fun and criticism whenever they get the chance. I much preferred your cohort, Spyro," Volteer said quickly. "Anyway, I'll see you then, Spyro. We'll be continuing where we left off last lesson."

With that, Volteer walked off speedily. Spyro sighed sadly. He knew it was not Volteer's intention to ignore him like that. He was just in a rush, and with his talkative nature, of course he was going to butt in early when he received the response he wanted. Maybe Terrador would be a better person to ask, or at least to wait until a calmer time where Volteer wasn't already so energised and rushed.

He sighed again, before making his way to the guardians' bedrooms, knocking carefully to announce his presence, just in case Terrador and Cyril were in their rooms. No response; they were still in classes or busy with other matters. He doubted he was going to get any help today.

With a frustrated groan, he turned and left the Warfang Temple, his wings drooping against his sides and his tail dragging against the ground. He'd just wanted some assistance on how he could help Cynder.

Spyro made his way home, spending the rest of the afternoon and night reading and thinking about Cynder, upset that he couldn't figure out how to help her more. This whole situation was very different to anything that had ever happened so far involving Cynder, and Spyro was beginning to get worried.

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**New chapter done! Hope everyone enjoyed it, and be sure to leave your feedback in a review!**

**Honestly I just hope you're all enjoying Grand Elemental Master as a whole; it's been a really difficult story to write so I really hope the effort and struggle has been paying off. On top of that, uni work's been stressing me out and procrastination hasn't been helping either, and I also kinda got an ear infection recently (in both ears) so yeah, that's been fun I guess... Other than that I'm doing fine lol.**

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**TARDIS1039:**** I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, and yes something is very much wrong with Cynder haha. How was this chapter for you?**

**Az0tAc: Thanks for the review man! Happy you're liking how I've written Spyro. Glad to know I'm getting something right haha.**

**Derick Lindsey:**** Thanks for the review as always, and I'm sure Spyro's happy to hear he did well teaching. Also glad you liked how Cyril was outed for still being single haha. Also the pregnant comment you made for Cynder? I didn't think about that and not the intention I wanted to give off haha, but hey, you gave me something else to put in this chapter lol.**

**Also thanks for the birthday wish; spent the day playing Jackbox Games with my friends so I did enjoy my birthday quite a bit despite being stuck at home haha.**

**Dragon of Mystery:**** Inner Ignitus haha; I honestly didn't think of that lol. I guess it kinda makes sense though given that Ignitus was such a big role model in Spyro's life, and he's kinda taken after him in becoming a teacher. Also really happy you thought the teaching scene was your favourite scene; that was one I spent ages struggling to write haha. And yes, we all need a bit of cute happy scenes after Demonised haha (this story has been a good break for me as well lol).**

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**Thanks everyone for all the reviews, and stay safe! Hope everyone's going well in their isolation or quarantine or whatever the heck you're all in lol. Also another huge thanks to Just Shooter and MysticOTDH for beta-reading (especially Mystic this time around, who really helped me with the romance sections lol). I'll see you around for the next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5: Distractions

Spyro took a deep, shaky breath as he watched the class of little dragons walk in, following behind the fire dragoness that supervised them. _Abella… her name was Abella,_ Spyro remembered. The kids sat down, and Abella began speaking to them, ready to pass the class over to him. Spyro swallowed as he looked over and saw Volteer sitting down in the seating piers at the back of the room, looking over the class eagerly, a smile on his face. However, it seemed rather neutral; Volteer was almost always smiling, or at least appeared to be, so unless it was a very wide smile, it was hard to know when Volteer was _actually_ happy.

Ancestors, Spyro was nervous, more nervous than he was last time. The purple dragon was worrying too much; he knew it, but couldn't stop it. Spyro wasn't just worried about the lesson today, but he was worried about Cynder. He was worried about her so much. His heart ached for her and knowing that she was hurting made him hurt as well. The dragoness' confrontations yesterday had not been good, and they were extremely concerning. There was definitely something wrong with her, but he didn't know what. It terrified him.

The young dragon couldn't get Cynder off his mind. Seeing her so broken really scared him. He couldn't sleep a single wink last night, tossing and turning constantly as the thoughts raced through his head. All that he could think of was Cynder, curling up inside his hold, clinging onto him desperately as she sobbed her poor heart out. He had spent the whole night terrified that something would happen to her. He was worried she'd knock on his door in the middle of the night, bawling her eyes out and wanting to find some comfort in his embrace.

The sound of her sobbing had taunted his mind, and thinking about it again now, it began making its way back into his head. Each whimper, each sob, each agonising cry tore away at him. It was almost worse not being able to see her physically there. His heart ached knowing that she was struggling and he couldn't be there to help her.

"Anyway, I'll hand it over to Master Spyro," Abella's voice tore through his thoughts.

He snapped back into the present and saw the fire dragoness stepping away, leaving him alone with a group of kids who watched him with every bit of their attention. He was worried he'd become a nervous, blubbering wreck in front of them, or lose his cool. If Cynder got mentioned once, Spyro feared what he would do. He swallowed nervously, before clearing his throat and starting with a shaky voice, cursing himself inwardly as the nervousness he tried to hide began to leak out of him.

"Well, good morning kids. Uhh, today we will be working on improving your elemental breath and getting you more in tune with your magic," Spyro announced, clenching his claws into the ground slightly to help with his nervousness and anxiety as his mind continued to half-linger on Cynder.

"Now stand up, spread out to give each other some space, and let's try and breathe out some more elemental breath."

And so they did, all the younglings spreading out as they had a few days earlier and beginning to focus in on their elemental power. A few sparks of elemental energy began to burst from some younglings' mouths, but every single one of them fell on their rear ends as the force knocked them to the ground.

"Keep a firm stance so you don't fall to the ground, okay guys? Spread your forelegs out and lean downwards," Spyro suggested, demonstrating the action himself.

They weren't able to control their elements yet, so all that was coming out was big forceful blows. The next thing after the stance and getting them used to their elements was control and balancing their power. They needed to learn how to control their element so they can remain standing and upright while they release their elemental breaths, as well as balancing their power so they can manage both small blasts _and_ powerful blasts when they are necessary.

"Alright, that's enough," Spyro said, and the kids all stopped what they were doing. "You're all doing pretty good; you can call on your element and use it at will, but what we need to learn now is control. All of you are just releasing super powerful blasts that are sending most of you to the ground.

"Now you'll get used to the power with more practice, and power isn't a bad thing, but sometimes you only need a small amount of power in an elemental attack. You're all rather new to this as well so your mana reserve isn't exactly the best. It will get increased later on, but right now it's not entirely the best at the moment."

"How can we increase our… mana reserve?" an ice dragoness asked, looking up at him with wide cyan eyes.

"It comes with practice," Spyro explained. "Over time, the more you use your element and the more you learn, your mana reserve and the amount of things that you can perform get increased, or you can also speed this process up with blue spirit gems. They are very rare and hard to come by, so we suggest that they aren't used too often. When you use up all of your mana however, you can use green mana gems to help fill your reserve again."

"Just like how the red gems heal us!" a young electric dragon exclaimed, a wide smile on his face.

"Yes. Just like that."

"My mummy is a healer, so she told me these things! She's even helped heal daddy quite a bit, since he's a soldier!"

"Ah! You might have to tell her you learned more about gems, as well as the fact you got to share your knowledge about them," Spyro said with a half-hearted chuckle.

The façade was getting harder to keep up by the second. Even now, Cynder's upset, disheartened self still haunted the back of his mind. But he needed to stay happy for the kids.

He realised he was wallowing in his thoughts, clearing his throat and head, shutting them out. The purple dragon hoped he hadn't been lingering on them for too long.

Spyro took a deep breath, ready to continue. "So, uh… can anybody tell me what you feel when you use your elements?" he questioned, looking over the students with a fake smile.

"Uh… it was hot?" a fire dragoness asked.

"It made my mouth cold," piped up an ice dragon.

"No, it started tingling," exclaimed an electric dragon.

Spyro chuckled. "Yes, you will all feel those side effects, which you will all get used to down the track, to the point where you won't even feel the heat, cold, tingling, or the dusty, earthy taste the earth dragons will feel," he explained. "But there is one thing that is shared between every dragon, regardless of elements. One feeling that every dragon feels when they use an element. Does anyone know what that is?"

Spyro was met with silence as the kids looked at him blankly, some tilting their heads in curiosity. The purple dragon chuckled, before answering them.

"Every time a dragon uses their element, it will form in their elemental core, located near their heart," he explained. "It will swell up, before being pushed through where you want it to go after a moment of focus and direction. If you want to shoot your element out of your mouth, it will shoot up your throat and out your mouth. If you want to release an element from your paws, it'll run through your arms and out of your paws. Or, if you want it to come out of your whole body…"

He paused as he summoned up fire inside him as a demonstration, his chest swelling with energy, before he mentally dispelled it throughout his whole body. With a bright flash of light, his entire body became alight, flames burning idly along his scales and horns. Gasps of awe came from the kids staring at him, especially the young fire dragons, their red and orange eyes blazing with delight and astonishment.

"...it will direct itself throughout your entire body," Spyro finished with a smile, before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath as the fire around his body dissipated, fading away with long trails of smoke.

"That was so cool!" one little fire dragon exclaimed.

"Do it again!" a fire dragoness pleaded.

"Can you do it with electricity please?!" asked an electric dragoness.

"Alright, calm down, kids," Spyro chuckled. "Unfortunately we've only got a limited amount of time so I think the one demonstration is enough. But I tell you what, if we finish early, I can show you that same thing with electricity."

"Yes! Thank you!" the electric dragoness cheered.

"Can you do it with ice as well?" an ice dragon questioned.

"What about earth?!" demanded an earth dragon.

"Remember? Only if we finish early!" Spyro said firmly, a teasing smile on his face.

"Yes, Master Spyro," the class muttered in unison, before silence swallowed the room.

Spyro inhaled to talk, but that one moment of silence turned into a moment of hell for him. It was enough for thoughts of Cynder to slip in through the business and noise of teaching. The purple dragon closed his eyes tightly and gritted his teeth, keeping his lips shut as to not frighten the kids with his display of clenched fangs. He tried to keep calm as he filtered out Cynder to the best of his abilities. Stressing about Cynder's wellbeing would have to wait, if he could help it. He had a task ahead of him and it was important.

_Teach the kids. I need to teach the kids. I can worry about Cynder afterwards._

The purple dragon took another deep breath, trying to clear his head. All this only happened in a matter of seconds, so Spyro hoped that no one noticed, especially the kids. Colours assaulted the purple dragon's retina as he opened his eyes again, taking a very brief glance over to Abella and Volteer sitting in the seating piers. Abella hadn't seemed to notice his hesitation, but his heart sank as he saw that Volteer's mouth was curled in a frown, eyes gleaming with concern at him.

_Ancestors damn it, Volteer knows something's up… _Spyro thought, cursing himself mentally. _Enough about that though. I need to teach the kids._

A colourful field of hatchlings greeted him as he turned his head back to the class. Their eyes were wide with curiosity and interest, waiting for him to continue. Spyro almost faltered again, but knowing how that one moment of hesitation cost him a lot more time, as well as a great deal of fear for Cynder's wellbeing to arrive in him, he ignored the urge to do so and just went straight into it, knowing that he needed this to get his mind off Cynder for a bit. He needed to teach these kids.

"Alright, so I want you all to use your elements again, but get used to the feeling of that energy flowing through your body. Notice the amount of strength surging through your body from your core and out of your mouth. Pay close attention to it," Spyro instructed.

He stood back, watching as the children took their battle stances, determination edging their faces as their eyes narrowed. There was silence as they all took deep breaths and concentrated, before a plethora of pops and crackles sounded as elemental magic burst out of the hatchlings' maws. Some of them landed flat on their rear ends again, still not used to the burst of raw power surging through them.

"Okay then, what did you notice about the way your elemental energy moved throughout your body?" Spyro questioned.

"It was _really_ fast, and very powerful. It all kinda just went _whoosh_ out of my mouth!" an enthusiastic electric dragoness exclaimed.

"Yeah! It all came out at once!" an ice dragon added.

"Okay, so what we want to do now is control that energy. We want to guide that energy slowly out of our mouth and let it flow gently, rather than trying to force it out when we feel it," Spyro explained. "Now, get back into your stances and try and let it out slowly. See if you can hold it for ten seconds. It doesn't matter how weak the element is; we can work on holding strong outbursts of energy for a long time much later on when you're more experienced. As long as something's coming out for ten seconds, you're doing fine."

The hatchlings all took their stances and concentrated hard once more. Some of them squeezed their eyes shut, some held their breath, and some held their eyes wide open, unblinking. The silence lasted for a good half a minute, before a few sparks flickered in the back of the room.

A small electric dragon was breathing a thin, weak beam of electricity at the ground, the crackling of the electricity soft and faint. Spyro started counting in his head. Two seconds went by. Three more dragons let out their elements. Two more seconds passed and five more younglings let out their elements. Within a couple more seconds, the whole class was aiming a thin elemental stream at the ground, but they all held it.

Every single dragon held the elemental beam for ten seconds, some of them longer. Younglings began to cease the energy flow, heaving for breath, a few of them sitting down on the ground to relax.

The purple dragon smiled at them. "Congratulations," he said happily. "You all have done very well and I am very proud of you."

"We did it! We did it!" the hatchlings cheered.

"Alright, calm down," Spyro chuckled. "You all did a good job; you should be proud of yourselves."

He turned his gaze briefly towards Volteer and Abella, wanting to just be done for the day. He'd spent enough time teaching; he was drained with everything going off with Cynder and he was starting to near being empty. Volteer seemed to notice Spyro's blank look and stood, nodding to Abella who stood as well.

Like last time, Abella told the kids to say thank you to Spyro, before they all left the classroom, leaving Spyro and Volteer alone. The guardian walked up to Spyro, a wide smile on his face. "You did good, Spyro. I think the kids learned a good amount today about control. It won't be too long until they can let out powerful elemental streams for that long," Volteer chuckled.

Spyro mumbled in agreement, his faked smile fading into a strong frown as he looked down. Now that he'd finally gotten the class over and done with, his thoughts about Cynder's problem began to assault his mind once more.

Volteer frowned, letting out a slow sigh. "Spyro… are you… are you okay?" he questioned.

"Not really," Spyro murmured, his gaze fixed on his paws which fidgeted slightly.

"Oh… o-o-okay. What's wrong?" Volteer asked.

"I, uh… I'm worried for Cynder. She's all of a sudden extremely upset and apparently she yelled at one of her friends yesterday. She said she hasn't been feeling like herself, and it's worrying me. She's had mood swings, she's been yelling at her friends, she was an absolute emotional wreck when she arrived at my house to ask for help. Cynder said that sometimes she just does things without even thinking, and at times it's like she can't see at all. Like she's not herself. It scares me. I feel like something bad's happening to her, but I don't know what."

Volteer just nodded, taking in the information. He took in a breath, sounding as if he was about to speak, before he let the air out again. A couple more seconds of silence ensued, before he inhaled again. "Why didn't you confront me or one of the other guardians regarding this unexpected predicament? I could've let you off class today to devote some quality time with Cynder and ensure that she is faring adequately," Volteer suggested.

"I mean… I tried," Spyro mumbled. "I guess I just… I don't know, I felt it wasn't worth being a bother when I came in to ask you about it yesterday."

"Oh. Was that the reason behind your appearance at the Warfang Temple yesterday afternoon?" Volteer questioned, to which Spyro nodded in reply. "I, uh… I deeply apologise for trying to rush you into this and not attempting to listen to you."

"It's okay, Volteer. At least you know now."

"Mmm, that is true I suppose. By all means however, I am greatly sorry to learn of this current situation with Cynder. If there is anything that you require my help with, please approach me and inquire my aid."

"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Was there anything else that Cynder mentioned regarding this sudden predicament, circumstance, hardship… uh, when you last saw her?"

"Not really. She just said she felt like a terrible person, not knowing fully what she was doing at some points in time, and just having so many mood swings," Spyro explained, his voice still small. "I saw that myself honestly; I was at her place yesterday morning and she was happy. We went our own separate ways for lunch, and afterwards she arrived at my place completely distraught and bawling her eyes out after having gotten upset at her friends."

Volteer just murmured, nodding and scratching his chin in thought. "This perplexes me. I'm not entirely certain on what may be happening to Cynder either, but I can research on the matter if that helps," he suggested.

"Yes, that'd be great!"

"I've got classes to attend and teach, however I will prepare some time tonight to concentrate on figuring out what might be the matter with Cynder. I just pray that nothing terrible happens. Tomorrow you can come around to the Temple if you wish, so we can fill the other guardians in on this occurrence together, and to receive their opinions on the matter."

"Thank you. I'll be sure to be there tomorrow morning," Spyro said, before smiling faintly. "I guess I'll… I'll see you later, Volteer."

"Affirmative. I will inform you of any information I uncover regarding Cynder's wellbeing, and I hope that she recovers. Goodbye."

With that, Spyro turned and left to go home. He was tired and needed rest. Trying not to think of Cynder during the class put a lot of mental stress on him, on top of the stress already there of trying to teach. And now with Cynder in the front of his mind, it was worse. He just needed to sleep it off. The situation was in Volteer's paws right now. There wasn't much more he could do. Especially not with the way his mind was bogging him down. He'd do some research after a nap.

And nap he did. He slept for the remaining hours of the morning, before eating lunch and going to the library to do some research on mood swings, without luck. He spent the whole afternoon researching, but couldn't find anything, so returned home with a heavy weight pulling at his heart, fearful that he couldn't help out.

He ate a small, half-hearted dinner, not feeling up to preparing a proper meal, before going immediately to bed. He lay awake for a good few hours, trying to figure out a reason for Cynder's situation, before he gave way to a deep slumber.

* * *

**And Chapter 5's done! Holy crap this was a real struggle to get done. I spent so long trying to get that teaching scene right and it was very difficult. Uni didn't help much either coz that piled up quickly. But it's finally done, and I hope you all enjoyed!**

**...**

**Dragon of Mystery:**** I'm happy I've got your nerves wracked lol; we'll see how it goes the next few chapters lol. Glad you enjoyed and hope you liked this chapter too.**

**TARDIS1039:**** Glad you enjoyed! Also happy you liked the Spynder moments (they're hard for me lol, but apparently nowhere near as hard as this teaching scene, big heck).  
**

**Fim-Larzitang:**** I'm kinda flattered lol; I'd definitely not consider myself one of the best romance authors out there as it is definitely not my strong point, nor is it something I have experience in. But I'm happy you've enjoyed it, and thanks for reviewing!**

**The Silent Insomniac:**** Happy to see you're liking the story man, and don't worry about _Demonised_; it's not everyone's thing and I get that. I'm honestly surprised I've been getting as many views as I have on it considering it's pretty dark and gory.**

**Derick Lindsey:**** Don't be sorry! It was an interesting idea I hadn't thought of, and I can see why you made that assumption. It made sense. So I decided why not, I'll put that in the chapter haha. I think it worked, so yeah, don't worry about it.**

**DiabloPProcento:**** Thanks for the review! I'd love to hear some more of your thoughts on this.**

**...**

**With that done, I'll try and get started on the next chapter of _GEM_ and _Demonised_ as soon as I can, and I'll see you later! Stay safe, and hope you enjoyed!**


	6. Chapter 6: Confrontation

The harsh sunlight was the first thing Spyro noticed when he woke up, his room illuminated by the amount of it shining through the window. He winced, squinting his eyes shut almost as soon as they fluttered open from his slumber, moaning at the pain in his eyes. It didn't take long for Spyro to realise how bright the light outside was, before he quickly flung himself out of bed, rushing to the window to check the sun's position. The purple dragon was slightly relieved to see that he hadn't slept in incredibly late, but Warfang was definitely starting to come alive by this point in the morning, a decent amount of citizens scattering the streets already.

Spyro wasn't usually this frantic in the mornings, but since he needed to chat with the guardians about the situation involving Cynder this morning before they all left to teach their classes, he needed to get a move on. He practically sprinted out of his bedroom, his paws sliding along the ground as he struggled to find his grip, causing him to collide with his bookshelf and knock a few books out of it. Spyro didn't bother to turn back and pick them up, his mind caught up in his sudden rush.

The purple dragon ran into the kitchen, almost tripping over his tail as he turned the corner quicker than he intended to. Spyro quickly pulled out a small slab of steak and a few berries, not even bothering to prepare it properly. He almost choked on the raw meat several times as he wolfed the food down, barely chewing.

Once he finally made it through his rushed meal, he moved as swiftly as he could to the Warfang Temple to meet with the guardians. Upon entering, he almost ran into Volteer, screeching to a halt as quick as he could before he slammed into the electric guardian.

"Ancestors damn it!" Volteer cursed as he staggered sideways, trying to regain his balance after the impact.

"Sorry!" Spyro apologised quickly, grimacing with embarrassment as Volteer gave him a slight glare.

"Next time, exercise and practice adequate levels of caution, young Spyro," the guardian muttered. "You could harm someone exerting that level of carelessness."

"I know, I-I-I'm sorry. I just was worried I'd be late. I didn't want to miss this meeting, and I didn't know when you, Terrador and Cyril were scheduled to go to your classes or other jobs you have to do, considering you are guardians on top of teachers."

Volteer just nodded, his expression firm. "Well, all three of us still have an adequate amount of time before classes commence for today. If you are still requiring our company to converse about the problems involving Cynder, we can commence that conversation now."

"Yes please."

With that, Volteer led Spyro off to the guardians' quarters, being greeted by Terrador and Cyril. The ice guardian appeared to still be half asleep, his eyes low and droopy and his gait slow and irregular. Large bags sat under his eyes, and he was complaining about not getting any sleep last night due to an uncomfortable bed.

"Cyril, quit complaining or you can buy yourself a new bed," Terrador grumbled. "You've been complaining about this for weeks and I, for one, am sick of it. Plus your bed is the same as ours."

"And it's uncomfortable!" Cyril snapped. "It doesn't help that I've been having back problems recently…"

"And whose fault is it that you haven't been to see someone about it?" Terrador butted in.

Cyril spluttered, before giving in with a defeated sigh. He then sat down, rubbing his tired eyes with a paw and letting out a massive yawn. Terrador just rolled his eyes, turning his head to suddenly notice Spyro and Volteer standing in the doorway, Volteer in the middle of a facepalm and Spyro wide-eyed, taking in the sudden argument that he had just witnessed.

"Anyway, we'll sort this issue out later now that we have a guest," Terrador said, giving Cyril a glare as he said the word 'guest', emphasising it slightly. "How are you, Spyro?"

"I'm doing alright, Master Terrador. Rushed out of bed this morning to get here before the school day started, but I'm finally here," the purple dragon stated.

"Oh! That's right, Volteer mentioned you were coming in for a talk. He never mentioned for what though; he ran off into his study soon after and never came out for the whole night."

"There was a lot I desired to examine and study; there wasn't much that helped the situation however," Volteer said, stepping in and sitting down, the purple dragon behind him quickly following.

"Well, what was it that you wanted to talk to us about, Spyro?" Terrador questioned, looking at Spyro with concern. "Volteer told us it was very important."

Spyro took a deep breath, before explaining to the guardians about what was happening with Cynder: her mood swings, uncharacteristic aggressiveness, snapping at him and her friends, and feeling like she 'wasn't herself'. Despite it not being new news for Volteer, he was still shocked and worried for the poor black dragoness, just like the other two guardians were. Cyril looked especially concerned, the wide eyes and nervous expression being a very stark change from the gloomy, tired, sleepy expression he had worn earlier.

"So… you don't know what caused this or where it came from?" Cyril questioned.

"No. I don't. It didn't seem like Cynder did either. She kinda just started feeling that way out of nowhere, and it's gotten worse," Spyro explained.

"Would it be related to stress?" Terrador asked.

"I don't think so," the purple dragon replied. "I asked Cynder the same thing and she said it was more… spiritual. She said she felt like she was changing on the inside, like she was becoming someone else. I'm scared for her. Cynder is so unlike her usual self and because she said it was spiritual, it seems to me like it… like it could be dark magic."

"It can't be!" Cyril denied quickly. "We've been in peace for five years. Dark magic has been pushed away. Surely we can't have another surge of dark magic and war in five years. It seems too soon."

"Yes, but we can't deny the fact that there is a possibility that it could be," Terrador rebutted. "If Cynder said it felt like a spiritual thing, then there is something changing inside of her. Uncharacteristic anger and grumpiness is common among stressed or sleep deprived people, but there's nothing spiritual about that. It's all physical and mental. Something seems wrong to me."

Volteer nodded. "I cannot fathom the possibilities of what this foreshadows and portends, but all I can conclude is that it is far from a positive or favourable outcome," he murmured.

"Yes, thank you Volteer, as if we need more grimness to deal with on top of this new problem that Spyro has raised to our attention," Cyril groaned.

"Cyril's right. After so much peace, the possibility of something new being born out of dark magic is a scary thought," Terrador said in agreement. "On top of that, I don't want Spyro to worry too much about…"

"Terrador, I'm fine. Please, if there is anything wrong with Cynder, I want you to tell me, no matter how scary or grim the thought may be," Spyro muttered.

"You're dealing with enough worry and stress as it is, Spyro. I don't want you to wear yourself out fretting," Terrador replied. "Right now Spyro, I don't think you need to be too actively involved."

"She's my _girlfriend_, Terrador! Of course I'm going to get involved if it concerns her!" Spyro spat, not even noticing how agitated he was becoming, but Terrador ignored him.

"You've got your apprenticeship on top of all this as well; you still need to be in peak condition for that. I don't think you need to know everything quiet yet."

"Terrador, _please_!" Spyro cried, standing up quickly, tears threatening to leave his eyes as his chest heaved with heavy breaths. "I _need_ to know! If there's something wrong with Cynder, I need to know. I _have_ to. And please, don't try to use my apprenticeship as something to stop me from worrying. It's important, I know, but for me, _people_ are more important. And this is my girlfriend we're talking about, so please, let me know. I _have_ to know."

The three guardians seemed to flinch at the emotion behind Spyro's words as his voice dwindled down to a whisper near the end. The purple dragon faltered at the uncomfortable silence that now swallowed the room, sitting back down and looking at his paws, which were now shaking.

Spyro could feel the tears start to trickle down his face, and with a sniffle, he quickly swiped his paw over his eyes to get rid of them. He felt so bogged down and overwhelmed by everything going on and all the possibilities that he was starting to break down under the pressure of it all. It was a disgusting feeling.

"Sorry, I just… I'm terrified for her. She's my girlfriend and I care about her. I… I don't care if the news is grim. I need to know so I can keep her safe. Whatever cost it takes, I will make sure she is safe."

Volteer sighed. "Ah, the flames of love and affection. I remember quite adequately how vigorous the need to safeguard your lover was. It's been an extremely lengthy time since I last felt that though..." he murmured, before taking a deep breath and shooting Spyro a kind smile. "Okay, Spyro. If we discover any new and unusual information about Cynder, we'll make sure to notify you."

"Thanks, Volteer."

"Anyway, Spyro, it might be a good idea to check up on Cynder sometime, just to see how she's going and to see if you can make some conclusions for yourself," Terrador suggested. "It might help us come to a conclusion about what may be going on."

"Alright, will do. I'll see if I can talk to Cynder today and organise a date tomorrow or something like that. Something to just spend a lot of time together so I can really pay attention," Spyro said with a shrug of the shoulders.

"I believe that's a smart idea worth acting upon," Cyril said with a yawn, his tiredness still weighing down on him.

"We all have classes to lecture today, but I'll attempt to dedicate extra time to researching what might be happening to Cynder," Volteer said.

"It might do good to look into some of the dark magic related stuff, considering the conclusion we've just come to," Terrador replied.

Volteer just nodded wordlessly, letting out a sad sigh. He noticed Spyro shiver out of the corner of his eye, knowing that this was hurting him deeply. The possibility of Cynder falling to darkness yet again was a terrifying thought, made even worse with the relationship he currently shared with her. He was terrified for her. He wanted her to be safe.

The electric guardian knew very well what it was like. His mate had laid in the infirmary for a good few days, violently sick. He feared for her life. She had passed away but in the end, she felt no pain, and it was peaceful. It tore him inside to see how scared Spyro was for Cynder's wellbeing, and he vowed he would do as much as he could to help them out.

"I will… I will do that," Volteer replied slowly. "And I'll ensure that word gets to Spyro of any discoveries I make."

There was an uncomfortable silence that lingered for about a minute as Spyro and the three guardians sat in the room, the dark, grim mood weighing down on them. Eventually, Terrador stood, stretching out with a groan. "Anyway, we should get to teaching our classes now," he announced.

"Yeah, you go do that," Spyro murmured, standing up too, Volteer and Cyril following his lead. "I'll, uh… I'll try and find Cynder, and maybe talk to my friends. I need to clear my mind a bit before I tackle this situation."

"Fair point," Cyril said. "I wish you good luck, young one, and we'll get in touch with information as soon as we can."

"Thanks," Spyro said, before making his way out of the Warfang Temple.

He stood out in the square where the Warfang Temple was located, watching as the citizens of Warfang go about their day to day life, wide smiles painting their faces. Everyone was oblivious to the problem that was starting to arise, and the possibility of dark magic causing troubles yet again.

Spyro growled in frustration. He wished that the peace could be kept, and that these bad things weren't happening. Everyone looked so happy; why couldn't he and Cynder have that?

Spreading his wings, Spyro took off into the skies, taking a flight to take his mind off things, focusing on the lush green plains beneath him and taking in the brisk, fresh air. It didn't help much, but it was good to be alone, left to his thoughts, and not being suffocated by the amount of people in Warfang. It was quiet and it was peaceful, just what he wanted right now.

Pulling his wings closer to his body, Spyro dived down to the ground, noticing a large, crystal-clear sapphire lake, landing beside it. He bent down to take a drink, the pure, cool water washing down his throat. It tasted amazing. The purple dragon lifted his head with a sigh, feeling hydrated and calm. The water had been good for his throat too; it had been dry all morning after stressing out so much, his little outburst at the guardians, and on top of that, having nothing to drink all day.

Spyro stepped forward, dipping his paws in the crystalline water and splashing it on his face, before he opened his wings again and made his way back to Warfang. He still needed to talk to Cynder. He needed another date with her. Of course he wanted it because he was in a relationship with her and he wanted to spend more time with the one he loved, but at the same time, there was more urgency to this one, to try and figure out what was _really_ going on with her.

Upon entering Warfang, Spyro was quick to run into Cynder, who was currently grabbing some more paints and carrying them behind her in a cart. Inside it was a tin of red paint, followed by two tins of black. Spyro raised a brow; Cynder was known for her bright and colourful imagery, so needing _two_ tins of black paint was pretty out of the ordinary for her. He chose to ignore it for now however, walking up to her to say hello.

"Hey, Cynder," the purple dragon called, putting a smile on his face.

Cynder paused, whipping around with a shocked expression. It quickly turned into a wide smile as she laughed. "Oh hey, Spyro," she greeted back gleefully. "I swear, we see each other more and more out on the streets than we used to."

"Yeah, we do," Spyro chuckled, scratching his head with a claw before getting to business. "Anyway, I was wondering if you'd be interested in going out for another date tomorrow night, if you're up to it. I just, you know, wanna spend more time with you, and to provide you some company, regarding…"

"...what's been going on recently with me?" Cynder finished, her smile slowly fading.

Spyro took a deep, nervous breath as his calm smile also disappeared. "Yeah. That," he murmured, suddenly feeling bad for ruining Cynder's mood.

"Ummm… well…" the black dragoness murmured slowly.

She hesitated, her gaze turning away from Spyro as she stared at her paws. The purple dragon winced. "Cynder? Are you alright?" he inquired, but she still didn't respond.

Cynder's throat bobbed as she swallowed, or at least tried to, going off the strained look that crept on her face when she did. Her arms seemed to shake a bit and her eyes were blank. "Cynder?" he said again, speaking louder to try and get her attention. "Do you need to talk?"

"No," Cynder snapped quickly. "No, I-I-I-I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I can talk now if you need to."

"No, it can wait. It's fine."

Spyro wasn't buying it, but he was worried that pushing it would make everything worse, so he didn't press any further, as much as he wanted to talk with Cynder and help her through whatever was going on. "Oh… o-o-okay," he murmured after a few awkward seconds of silence, averting his gaze from Cynder as well.

A few more awkward seconds passed, the two dragons standing in the middle of the street staring at their paws. The purple dragon cleared his throat, before looking back up at Cynder. Her eyes strayed back to him.

"So would the date tomorrow still be alright or… would it not be a good idea at this point?" he asked.

"No, it'll be fine. I'd like a date," Cynder replied. "I'm not really up to going out to be honest, but if you're happy for dinner over at my place I'll be happy to have you."

"Sure thing. Sounds good enough to me."

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow evening then?"

"Yes, tomorrow evening. That should be great. Is there anything you want me to bring over to help with dinner?"

"Oh, you don't have to, Spyro. You prepare food all the time, or you buy the food when we go out. I should do something for once," Cynder said with a chuckle, stepping forward and nuzzling him.

"Are you sure?"

"I am absolutely sure. Rest and let me handle dinner for once."

The purple dragon nodded with a chuckle, stepping back from the nuzzle. "Alright. It _has_ been a while since I last had your cooking," he said.

"It's been _more_ than a while. Over the past five months you insisted that you'd prepare lunch or dinner so that I didn't have to," she said with a roll of her eyes. "I appreciate you being a gentleman and all, but it's time I give back."

Spyro rolled his eyes too, looking at Cynder with a wide smile. She was right; he'd done all the work regarding food for their past dates. It was all voluntary of course, but Spyro could see why Cynder wanted to be the one in charge of the food this time around. She wanted to pull her weight in the relationship, and do something to give back to Spyro. The purple dragon believed in respect and being polite, especially to his girlfriend of all people, so any opportunity to be responsible in preparing or paying for food was one he took, so that Cynder didn't have to.

The sound of Cynder's voice brought Spyro back to the conversation at hand. "I do remember you absolutely _loving_ my spicy pork ribs last time I cooked for you," she giggled.

"Oh yeah, those were amazing," the purple dragon sighed.

"You stuffed yourself silly; there was one point I thought you were going to throw up."

He averted his gaze with a groan, shaking his head, a smile on his face. Cynder walked up to him and turned his head back towards her. "Don't do that again; I was worried I'd have to clean up vomit," she chuckled.

"I'll be responsible this time, Cynder. I promise," Spyro replied.

"You'd better, or _you_ can clean up the vomit," Cynder giggled, nuzzling him again, before stepping away and grabbing her cart of paint again. "Anyway, I'd better take these home and continue painting. I'll see you tomorrow night for dinner."

"Alright, bye Cynder!" Spyro farewelled.

With that, Cynder turned and left, taking the cart with her. The purple dragon watched her leave. He'd asked her on a date, and she had said yes. Perfect. He was finally getting somewhere regarding this. He wanted to get to the bottom of this and solve it soon, because after all, he was still planning to propose very soon. Spyro wasn't sure a proposal would satisfy either of them completely while this was going on, so he hoped it was an easy solution.

_Unfortunately things like this never are…_ the purple dragon thought with a sigh, lowering his head dejectedly.

Spyro turned and made his way to the Warfang Pub, his stomach grumbling and demanding a proper meal after his rushed breakfast, on top of a craving for a drink to take his mind off things. He got himself a proper slab of beef steak, cooked, seasoned and prepared to perfection, coated in a delicious barbeque marinade. As for the drink, he'd gotten a large bottle of wine, popping it open and taking large gulps of it.

He'd only taken a couple bites of his lunch by the time he felt a claw tapping him on the shoulder. Spyro jumped, whirling around with a yelp, only to see Blaze and Arcton standing there. "Hey, Spyro," Blaze said with a smile. "I wasn't expecting to see you here as well."

"Good afternoon you two," Spyro said, turning back to his food and taking a small bite, suddenly feeling shy.

There was the sound of shuffling as Blaze and Arcton sat down beside him on either side at the table, concerned expressions on their faces. Spyro sighed; he knew they were probably going to pry into what was wrong, and he wasn't particularly wanting to disclose to them what was going on with Cynder, especially after going over it with the guardians, as well as the dark severity of the matter, considering dark magic was a possibility.

"Are you okay, Spyro?" Blaze questioned.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," the purple dragon replied.

"You sure? You don't look fine," Arcton murmured.

Spyro sighed, grabbing his bottle of wine and taking a swig from it. He lowered the bottle from his lips, hesitating, before putting it down on the table again. "I'm sure," he said, nodding his head. "It's just been a difficult last couple of days for me. I'm just tired, that's all."

"Spyro, you're more than just tired," Blaze insisted firmly. "I can see it in your expression. You won't even look at us."

"I'm _fine_, okay?" Spyro spat, raising his voice slightly and clenching his paws.

He only now just realised how aggressive he sounded, on top of the wide snarl on his face, lips pulled back to the point where his gums were exposed. He tried to take a deep breath to calm himself down, tightening the clench of his jaws to the point where he could hear his teeth grating against each other.

"You are not fine," Blaze said slowly and firmly, his expression soft and upset. "Please, I just want to help. What's wrong?"

The last thing Spyro wanted to talk about right now was the problem happening with Cynder. He didn't want that information out yet. However, thinking about it, there was another problem that was adding on top of his sudden anger. It was something that he'd griped about internally for a very long time, and it was probably time to let it out. If there was one thing his father told him that always stuck with him, it was that emotions can be dangerous if kept internal for too long.

Spyro cleared his throat, pursing his lips back together and hiding his teeth, before grabbing a firm hold of his bottle of wine and taking a long swig of it, setting it down on the table afterwards with a heavy sigh.

"It's… about the guardians," he murmured quietly, lowering his gaze and taking particular interest in the grooves of the wooden table.

"The guardians? Wh-what happened?" Arcton questioned. "Is it something to do with the apprenticeship?"

"Eh… kind of," Spyro replied, trying to be delicate with how he responded. "Some pretty… heavy… things are going on right now - things I don't really want to share with you right now - and I went to consult the guardians about it earlier this morning. There's still a lot of uncertainties about it so the guardians proposed they do some research but they… they eventually tried to hide it from me, because they 'didn't want me to worry'. I'm scared and worried about it, and it involves me. I need to know. I _deserve_ to know. I think I'd worry _more_ if I didn't know."

There was a small moment of silence as Spyro finished. Arcton moved to speak, but Blaze raised a claw and put it against the ice dragon's lips, telling him to keep quiet, as he could tell by the way Spyro clenched his jaw that he still had more to say. Spyro sat unmoving for a bit longer, before he grabbed his drink and took another swig from it. He lowered the bottle to place it down, hesitating before the bottle touched the table. Instead, he raised it to his lips again, taking another few gulps before finally setting it back down.

"They do this all the time," he finally said. "All the damn time. They're so authoritative and controlling, and think they know what's best for me. I'm not a child anymore; I can take care of myself. I fought in a war _as_ a child for the ancestors' sakes! I didn't know what I was doing; I'd never thought of the concept of death before. I never even knew what it was like to be a dragon. And still the guardians told me 'fight'. 'Kill'.

"After so long doing it, it felt natural to me, and by the time I got back to interacting with people and adapting to a normal life again, my 'natural' just felt so wrong. I didn't realise what I was doing was actually bad because I looked up to the guardians, being the first dragons I saw, and I was an innocent, blind child who just wanted to bring peace and make people happy. So I did what they asked. I fought and killed. And they didn't. They made me do all the work for them, almost as if they're too high and mighty for it all."

"Spyro, they care for you. The guardians aren't like that," Arcton butted in quickly, watching as Spyro took another sip of his wine. "This is the alcohol speaking."

Spyro ignored the ice dragon, clearing his throat. "I feel like I'm their pawn, their weapon, because they're the guardians and they're in charge, and they can just make do with the legendary purple dragon however they damn well want to. I will not be told what I can and can't know about the current situation; if I want to know, then I _will_. And if they won't tell me anything, I'll bring hell on them."

Blaze sighed sadly, glancing at Arcton quickly, who looked just as concerned for their friend as he did. Their eyes were wide and Arcton's bottom lip was trembling slightly in fear. "Alright Spyro," Blaze replied slowly. "Uh, thanks for telling us. Just know that you can come to us for help, okay? We're your friends. We want to help. We want to be there for you. I just hope that it feels like we _are_."

The purple dragon just nodded, knowing that Blaze and Arcton's concern for him was genuine. Blaze would probably be the better person to talk to, considering he was a lot better at the deeper, more serious talks, as Arcton was the more happy-go-lucky, fun-loving, slightly cocky type. The ice dragon, however, had surprised Spyro on the occasion with how serious he could get.

Arcton cleared his throat. "So… did you want us to leave, or…?" he started.

"No, you can stay," Spyro answered quickly, stopping Arcton from finishing his question, suddenly a bit guilty that he'd let his anger get the better of him. "I'd like the company."

Blaze nodded, before organising with Arcton what they were going to be eating. Their food arrived just as Spyro finished his, so the purple dragon sat there finishing his wine while the other two ate and drank, deciding to get some beer instead.

"So how's things been going for you two since we last caught up?" Spyro questioned, wanting to change the subject.

"Pretty good actually," Blaze said with a smile. "I got the apprenticeship, so I'm now working as a blacksmith."

"Oh, congratulations!" Spyro exclaimed. "Are you enjoying it so far?"

"Definitely. Frade, my mentor, is great and very encouraging, and he explains things very well. I've really been enjoying the apprenticeship so far. Also I got more good news: I finally asked Zeena out!"

Spyro blinked with surprise, his eyes gleaming. "Wow, Blaze. Congratulations," he said with a wide smile. "I wasn't expecting you to ask her out so soon after our talk; it's only been five days after all."

"Oh I asked her three days ago. But uh, she said yes, and we had the date last night. So I guess we're officially a couple now."

"I followed your advice too, Spyro!" Arcton exclaimed. "I went and talked to Fairen and Cerina, and I think they're both pretty into me by the looks of it."

"Oh really?" Blaze teased, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I guess I must be doing something right: I've got _two _girls!" Arcton boasted, smirking slyly.

"Maybe, but are you in a _relationship_ with either one yet?" Spyro questioned.

The ice dragon balked. He adapted a serious look and pointed a sharp talon at Spyro. "Not yet, purple boy, but I'll prove you wrong when I ask them _both _out," he whispered, his eyes narrowing with determination.

"I'm not sure how well having two partners will work," Blaze chuckled. "I mean, that's two pretty heavy commitments you're working with, and you don't want both your partners getting jealous of each other."

"I mean, if you can make it work and they're all fine with it, go ahead," Spyro said with a shrug. "Prove us wrong."

Arcton smiled, pumping his fist and whispering a quiet 'yes' under his breath, and Spyro just rolled his eyes. He was happy for Arcton though, and if he got two partners out of it, then good for him. For him however, Cynder was enough, and it looked like Blaze was in the same mindset regarding Zeena. They didn't need anyone else.

The ice dragon sat back and started whispering to himself as he ate. Spyro chuckled. Arcton was probably overthinking it, his egotistical attitude and high self-esteem getting the better of him. Spyro only just caught the word 'harem' coming from his friend's mouth. _Yup, definitely overthinking it,_ Spyro thought with a roll of his eyes. _I'd be impressed to see him get that many girls, but just wait 'til he sees how much work a relationship takes._

Spyro turned to Blaze, whose face was contorted with humour as he tried to hold in his laughter. The purple dragon just shrugged, Blaze responding back with a shrug of his own.

Not too long after, Blaze and Arcton had both finished their food, and were finishing their beers. By this point Spyro had emptied his bottle of wine, and was tempted to get more but decided against it. The chatter was more generalistic, regarding the apprenticeships Spyro and Blaze had, and the topic eventually switched to what Blaze's date with Zeena was like. Throughout the whole time Spyro was hoping that the topic wouldn't switch to him and Cynder, and luckily it didn't.

Eventually, Spyro decided to call it quits, knowing he needed to take the rest of the day slowly and calmly considering he needed to be very attentive for the date with Cynder tomorrow.

"Hey guys, I'm… I'm going to have to head home. I have a busy day tomorrow and I should probably rest up a bit so I have the energy for the day," Spyro explained, standing up. "Thanks for staying with me and keeping me company."

"Our pleasure," Arcton said with a smile.

"And remember, Spyro, you can always come and talk to us if you want help; that's what friends are for," Blaze added, his eyes gleaming with a genuine kindness.

"I know. Thanks, Blaze. Thanks, Arcton," Spyro said. "I'll see you later, then. Bye."

"See ya, Spyro," the two dragons said together, before Spyro turned and left the pub.

He got home at a very rapid pace, just wanting to get home to relax and cool down after rushing to the meeting with the guardians, as well as the amount he had just drunk. He usually shared a bottle with someone else, so had never had a full one to himself, and on top of that he'd gotten one of the largest bottles of wine. Was it a coping mechanism? Probably, considering the information he'd just discovered earlier that morning. It didn't mean it was a good thing however.

It was especially worrying since he didn't know his alcohol tolerance; he didn't _feel_ drunk, but that was likely his brain playing tricks on him.

Spyro decided to run a hot bath, sitting down in the steaming water with a sigh, lying in it with a satisfied smile on his face, his eyes closed with contentment. The water felt nice, soaking over his scales, the heat warming him up.

He probably laid there for about an hour, almost falling asleep twice, before he got out, drained the bathtub, and dried himself thoroughly, before spending the rest of the day reading. Or… attempting to at least. The words on the page appeared to slur together, creating long strings of letters that he struggled to make individual words out of, forcing him to re-read each line at least three times. Maybe he was somewhat drunk. He ended up finishing the novel he was reading, as he was almost done anyway, but he spent most of the afternoon doing so. The purple dragon went to bed early, knowing he'd likely need the sleep.

* * *

**It's been a while since the last update but I'm back! Once again this was a bit of a tricky one to complete, but I'm pretty happy with the end result, and I hope you all are too. I hope it was good seeing Blaze and Arcton back again, and I hope you enjoyed the events of this chapter! ****Another reason why this chapter took so long to do is because of uni. It's been pretty full-on and stressful this semester, so yeah.**

**...**

**TARDIS1039: Is it 'about bloody time' for this chapter too haha? Also thanks for the words; I'm glad other people think I'm handling the romance sections right lol. It's probably one of my biggest stresses about this story is getting those sections and themes done right. But I'm glad you think they're coming along nicely, so thanks!**

**AquillaPrime:**** Thanks for coming to have a look at this story, and I hope you like it! Yes, this story places Spyro in a characterisation that we're probably more comfortable/used to seeing him in, being back to the good-hearted purple dragon we all know and love lol. Also I'm happy you like the idea of Cynder being a painter; that was something I thought would be pretty interesting too so I went y'know what, let's just go with it hehe.**

**The Silent Insomniac:**** Great to see you reviewing again, and thanks! Glad you liked my worldbuilding on the magic system here, especially since you do so much worldbuilding with _Aimless_ haha. Hope this chapter was interesting enough for you! XD**

**Dragon of Mystery:**** Happy to hear that you like seeing Spyro as a teacher, and yes I do agree, it's a very poetic situation he's got himself in with teaching kids something he was never taught at their age. Down the track as well, if kids are interested, or just people in general, he's also able to enlighten them about other cultures since he lived with a completely different species for the first twelve years of his life. It's a really interesting idea. Also we'll be seeing more of Cynder soon, so look forward to that one.**

**Derick Lindsey:**** Also happy to hear you like Spyro as a teacher. And yes, every once in a while we do need Spyro to be the Spyro we all know well, although 'Jackass Spyro' as you call him does provide some interesting concepts, as it's handled slightly differently between all three of those fics you mentioned, and brings about very different events (the events surrounding Spyro at that point also influences what happens tbh).**

**DiabloPProcento:**** Great to hear you enjoyed the chapter! Hope you enjoyed this one. I also understand, as people like different things. We'll have to see how it goes over the next few chapters. :) Tension however is important for any story to progress, and depending on what type of tension it is, drama will come out of that too. Regarding tragedy, unlike Demonised which is under the Tragedy category, this story won't be incredibly heavy on it, although there will still be some of it later down the track. Still, hope to hear more from you on the story, and hope you enjoy it!**

**...**

**Anyway, with all that said, it's back to uni work for me. I'll see you later with another chapter (of either _GEM_ or _Demonised_, I'm not sure what I wanna work on first lol). Have a good day, and stay safe!**


	7. Chapter 7: Another Date

It was evening. The sun was setting, swallowing Warfang in a bright orange light. The streets were busy, filled with a multitude of dragons either heading home or going out to restaurants for dinner. Spyro was among the business of the streets on his way to Cynder's house, his head raised high and his chest puffed out. He was looking forward to the date, as usual, as he loved spending time with Cynder, and was hoping this would be the chance to figure things out regarding the problems Cynder was having as well as where their relationship was going to go next.

He wanted to propose to her. So badly. She seemed to be doing well yesterday, and he was hoping that she was beginning to get better. If things _were_ getting better, then Spyro would be sure to propose as soon as he could. He was starting to run out of patience.

There was a voice in the purple dragon's head that told him things weren't going to get better, but he knew that was a possibility and that things weren't likely going to go the way he wanted to. Spyro took the optimistic outlook in the hopes that it'd lift his mood for once, and make the date more enjoyable.

Spyro finally arrived at Cynder's house, taking a deep breath before knocking on the door twice. He took a step back, tapping a claw on the ground while he waited for Cynder to open the door for him. Before long he could hear her pawsteps, before the door opened in front of him.

"Good evening, Spyro," Cynder greeted with a smile.

Spyro stood there dumbfounded at her. Her scales were polished and had a beautiful sheen among them, especially while standing in the light of the bright sunset, making the black scales seem oddly bright. Her emerald eyes also sparkled, the same way they usually did when he saw her.

It didn't take him long to realise he was standing slack-jawed out in the open, staring at her, before he clamped his jaw shut with a click of the teeth and smiled at her. "Good evening," he purred.

Cynder just giggled, standing back a bit to let Spyro in, shutting the door behind him. "For a moment there I thought you'd turned into a statue," she said teasingly, raising a claw and tapping him on the nose. "I figured I'd have to drag you in here at some point."

"Yeah, well… your beauty never ceases to astound me," Spyro murmured with a small blush.

The black dragoness felt her own cheeks heat up with a blush, although it was hidden by her dark-coloured scales. She stepped forward and nuzzled him, sighing contently. Spyro returned the nuzzle, the corners of his mouth burning from his wide smile. Cynder pulled away from the nuzzle, before leaning forward again and kissing Spyro on the cheek. The purple dragon's heart lurched at the touch of her soft lips against his cheek.

Cynder stepped away, making her way into the kitchen where she had begun preparing dinner. Spyro followed her, his mouth watering at the sight of the raw pork ribs sitting on the bench, as well an empty bowl and ingredients for the spicy marinade. She quickly got to work making the marinade, the purple dragon watching from the other side of the bench as his favourite meal of Cynder's was prepared in front of him.

"So, how's your day been?" Cynder questioned.

"It's been… pretty chill to be honest. I went to the library and got another novel to start reading, and I caught up with Kairo over lunch," Spyro explained.

"How's he going? Blaze and Arcton too? It's been a very long time since I last talked to them," Cynder said.

"Kairo's doing pretty well. He's started going to the gym and the training arena a lot more, wanting to get a lot fitter. He's wanting to go into the Warfang Army and after our talk a couple days ago I think he's really starting to pursue it now; I could already see he was in better physical condition than he used to be."

"_Better_? That guy's already pretty bulky and well-defined," Cynder said with a smirk, raising a brow.

"Yeah, it surprised me too, but I reckon he's definitely going to need to exercise a lot more if he's going into the army."

"You got a fair point there."

"And just because I said he's in better physical condition doesn't mean you can seek him out for his looks," Spyro said heatedly.

"What? Why would I do that?" Cynder chuckled, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Don't act like you don't remember the first time you met him, Cynder," Spyro groaned with a roll of his eyes. "You were absolutely gobsmacked, and even asked if you could touch his muscles. I think everyone was lucky I stopped you or otherwise no one would've heard the end of it."

"Spyro, that was two years ago. I was a lot more immature than I am now. I think _all_ the girls were interested by those hulking muscles of his anyway."

The purple dragon huffed. "We were already a year into dating by then," Spyro murmured. "You remember how awkward I was hearing you fawn over Kairo."

"It doesn't matter; we're past that," Cynder chuckled. "Besides, I've got you, and I'm _more _than happy with you, Spyro. You know that."

Spyro smiled, rolling his eyes. Silence swallowed the air before his smile turned into a cheeky one as he studied Cynder. "You're still thinking about his muscles, aren't you?" he teased, noticing Cynder's somewhat thoughtful expression

"No I'm _not_," Cynder scoffed, another blush heating up her cheeks. "Let's change the topic, please. How are Blaze and Arcton doing?"

"Okay, okay," Spyro chuckled, shaking his head. "Well, I caught up with Blaze and Arcton yesterday, and they're going pretty well too. Blaze got an apprenticeship as a blacksmith, and also ended up asking Zeena out."

"Oh, Zeena? How'd that go?" Cynder questioned.

"She said 'yes', and Blaze said that it went really well."

"I guess they're a couple then, huh?"

"Yup. No longer just me who has a significant other in my friend group," Spyro said with a chuckle. "Arcton also started talking to some girls as well. He's not started a relationship yet, he's more just starting friendships to build the foundations."

"Even Arcton's getting himself out there. Who's he talking to?"

"Fairen and Cerina."

"Ah, the pretty ones," Cynder giggled. "Good luck with him keeping his composure around them. I've seen many a guy completely stumble over their words around those two."

"I'm pretty sure that's common for most people who find someone they like," Spyro said with a shrug.

"Yeah it happened with you to me quite a bit," Cynder replied. "Still happens now, even."

"Oh, shush."

"You can't deny it though, can you?"

"N-n-no, not really."

"You know I like to tease you, Spyro. And with your teasing to me about Kairo, I think you deserve it."

Spyro just shrugged, looking away from Cynder for a short time. His gaze turned back to her after silence overtook them, and he noticed that she was starting to marinate the pork, putting the meat in the bowl and rolling it inside the spicy marinade. He watched as she rubbed her paws gracefully along the flesh, spreading the sauce all over the rib, her digits digging into it as if massaging it. A small sigh left the purple dragon's lungs, to which Cynder looked up at him, noticing his longing expression.

The purple dragon didn't realise that her gaze was now focused on him until she lifted her paws up slowly from the bowl, her paws dripping with the marinade. His face fell as his eyes suddenly met hers, and the biggest blush yet assaulted his cheeks. Cynder just giggled at the flustered purple dragon in front of her, lowering her gaze back to the food and continuing to cover the pork in the marinade.

"After dinner, I can give you a massage if you want," Cynder offered.

"No, it's fine. I mean you're already doing the cooking so it's a bit much if I get you to give me a massage as well," Spyro said nervously, unable to keep his gaze on Cynder.

"Spyro, I offered to make dinner and I'm offering to give you a massage. Just like you always offer to do literally anything that involves paying or making food on most of our other dates," Cynder replied with a roll of her eyes. "I'd recommend taking my offer while it's still open."

"Are you sure you want to?" Spyro questioned. "You wouldn't prefer it if I gave you a massage instead? After all you _are_ making dinner."

"It's not like I'm wearing myself out doing so; it's pretty simple," Cynder said with a shrug. "Take a day off being responsible for everything for once."

Spyro just sighed, knowing he wasn't going to be able to argue with her. "Alright, offer accepted," he said with a chuckle.

"Great!" Cynder exclaimed. "Now you better enjoy it."

"I will, I promise!"

"Good. Now, I'm going to cook the meat now; you can go sit down if you want."

"Alright," Spyro replied, standing up and making his way to the dining table where he sat down and watched as Cynder cooked.

She breathed a small burst of shadow fire at the stove, igniting it with a glowing dark purple flame, before she started cooking the pork ribs. The smell was heavenly and it made Spyro's mouth water. He was looking forward to eating.

It was in this short time of silence where Spyro took some time to reflect, remembering the original reason for this date. It was to monitor Cynder to get a better idea of what could be going on with her. So far she seemed pretty normal. Playful teasing, a firm sense of independence, kindness… Nothing felt out of place quite yet.

Spyro hoped it was over but it was still early; something might appear later. He had to keep a close eye out on things.

Cynder soon finished up, bringing the plate of beautifully cooked marinated spicy pork ribs to the table. "There we go," Cynder said as she sat down beside the purple dragon. "Now be careful with how much you eat. I don't want a repeat of last time we had this when you ate so much you almost threw up. I really don't want to have to clean up vomit."

"I know, you told me yesterday," Spyro said with a chuckle.

"I did?"

Had she really forgotten something that happened only yesterday? It was small but it wasn't an incredibly small detail. Spyro hoped it was her brain just playing up, but it was an oddity that could have something to do with her mood swings and emotional instability.

"Yeah, you did," Spyro replied, trying not to appear too concerned as to not make Cynder suspicious.

"Hmm, I don't remember saying that," Cynder murmured, shrugging. "Anyway, let's eat."

Spyro and Cynder grabbed some of the spicy pork ribs and dug in, enjoying the food. The purple dragon's mouth had been watering while Cynder was cooking the ribs, and it was great to finally sink his teeth into the meal. And ancestors, the wait was worth it. The succulent flavour of the marinated pork washed over his tongue, his mouth flaring up with the heat from the chili powder in the marinade. He didn't mind though; he loved spicy food.

A low growling from beside him caught his attention, and he looked over at Cynder. The growling was coming from her. It was almost a primitive growl as she ate, tearing into the flesh of the meat. It was strange; she wasn't eating the way a primitive animal would. She was being slow and careful, the same way she always ate. But she never growled like this.

The black dragoness didn't seem to register the spice levels either. She didn't mind spicy food but her tolerance was definitely not the same as Spyro's. Usually when they ate spicy food she'd end up sweating or breaking out into panting halfway through the meal to try and cool herself down. Cynder wasn't having those reactions.

Was this something to do with the earlier problems? Was this an oddity to take note of too?

Whether it was or not, Spyro took note of it, believing it could have some significance. He hadn't spent that long here yet, and already Cynder was having a few moments of not acting like herself. The purple dragon remained quiet however, and continued eating his food.

They ate in silence, before they cleaned up. It was a quick job, as they didn't have many dishes out, and afterwards Spyro and Cynder made themselves comfortable in the living room, snuggling up into each other's warmth on the couch.

"So, we talked about me earlier," the purple dragon started. "How about you? What've you been up to since yesterday?"

"Uhh, not much," Cynder replied slowly. "I did a bit of painting today. I tried to start something new this morning. I think it was an ocean scene I tried to do. I _stuffed it up_ though, so I got rid of it and continued the painting I started last night."

Spyro was caught off guard by the slight aggressiveness behind 'stuffed it up'. Cynder got frustrated when she made mistakes, but she was usually pretty calm while painting. She almost never got angry at her paintings and she most definitely didn't throw out paintings. The amount of half-completed paintings she had in her painting room was astounding; she kept everything.

The purple dragon swallowed. Cynder seemed really off tonight. He wasn't sure if she knew it, but he could tell that she was.

"Oh. Sorry to hear that," Spyro murmured. "Also the painting last night, what is it?"

"It's uh… it's a secret," Cynder said bashfully. "It's a surprise."

"Alright, whatever you say," he replied with a chuckle, which was somewhat forced. "I'm guessing it was with the new paints you picked up yesterday… the black and red ones."

"Yeah, you're right. That's what the paints are for."

"You doing okay? I did notice the paints were a little out of the ordinary for you, considering you're usually known for your bright, cool colour palettes. It was especially weird to see you needing _that_ much black paint."

"I'm fine, Spyro. I just wanted to try something different."

Spyro raised an eyebrow. He wasn't buying it, but something was telling him that Cynder wouldn't tell him. He hoped she was just wanting to try something new, but she had been known to do a lot of dark vent art, and to see her needing two tins of black paint worried him slightly.

"That's good though; trying new things can be helpful. I'm looking forward to seeing what you make," Spyro replied.

"As always," Cynder chuckled.

"You know I love your paintings, Cynder."

"I'm your girlfriend; that's a biased opinion."

"No, I legitimately mean it!"

"Sure you do," Cynder giggled, nuzzling Spyro.

The purple dragon returned the nuzzle with a chuckle at Cynder's teases. It was never a secret that she enjoyed teasing Spyro. It was good to see her happy, even though it cost Spyro a bit of humility.

"How've you been doing emotionally?" Spyro asked, wanting to see how she was doing. "Still had any mood swings? Feeling like yourself again?"

"Um, I've had a few mood swings today, yeah. Still a bit here and there but I'm doing as good as I can, you know?" Cynder replied, her expression and tone neutral. It was hard to figure out what emotion she was portraying. "I hope it stops soon, and I wish I could understand what's happening to me. I had a nightmare last night as well, so that was fun."

"A nightmare? What about?"

"I… I can't remember. I think I vaguely remember seeing yellow eyes. And there was this one word… ak'rhoran or something like that. I don't know. It was weird. I don't remember how it ended or what happened though. That's all I remember."

"Ak'rhoran?"

"Yeah. I got no clue what the hell it means. I don't know why the word sticks out to me either. It's… bizarre."

Spyro just mumbled in agreement. It was very strange. Very worrying, too. There were a lot of new things being brought up today. The purple dragon sighed, knowing that all these things put together were likely going to reveal something bad, and he didn't like it.

"Just know that if anything happens that worries you or upsets you, you can come talk to me about it, right?" Spyro said.

"Yeah, I know. Thanks," Cynder replied. "You've been an amazing support through this. Through all my life, really. I really appreciate it."

"It's the least I could do, Cynder. I'm more than happy to help," the purple dragon breathed, nuzzling Cynder.

"I love you, Spyro," Cynder murmured. "Always."

Spyro inhaled to reply, but his breath was taken from him as he felt Cynder's lips press against his. He flinched slightly at the sudden kiss, but quickly returned it, feeling a sense of euphoria wash over him. Every time he kissed her, that euphoria never changed. It always felt fresh and inviting, and he often wished he could never leave.

The black dragoness pulled away, a wide smile on her face. The two dragons stared at each other briefly before nuzzling each other. Cynder let out a satisfied giggle, before she slowed the nuzzle and lay against Spyro, drawing circles on his chest with a gentle claw. She felt the purple dragon lean into her, resting his chin on top of her head, his chest rising and falling slowly as he breathed. A soft growl rumbled from his throat at the sensation of her claw drawing circles on his chest.

Cynder suddenly gasped, realisation coming to her. "I almost forgot, the massage! Dinner's finished now, so whenever you want that massage, let me know," she said to Spyro.

The purple dragon stammered, somewhat flustered. He'd never gotten a massage, let alone from his own girlfriend. "U-u-uhh… alright," he replied. "If you say so."

"Oh don't get your tail in a knot, Spyro. It'll be fine," Cynder giggled as she stood up. "Now, roll onto your stomach."

Spyro cleared his throat, swallowing his nervousness, before obeying Cynder, rolling over on the soft couch so that he lay on his stomach, his head resting in his arms. He almost jumped with surprise when Cynder's paws finally came in contact with his back, rubbing against his scales slowly but firmly. It felt strange at first, but he eventually came to realise he enjoyed it. It was soothing and comforting. On top of that, it was his girlfriend, not just any massage therapist. It felt special, and was more intimate than he imagined a normal massage would be.

The black dragoness' delicate paws slowly moved up Spyro's spine, working their way in between the folds of his wing joints. Her long, firm strokes along his scales hit a nerve, causing a low groan to rumble from his throat. His breathing slowed and a soft, content smile overtook him.

Cynder giggled as another groan left Spyro's mouth. "You enjoying it, Spyro?" she chuckled.

"Are you sure you don't work as a massage therapist?" Spyro breathed. "This is very relaxing."

"No, I'm sure," Cynder said softly. "I barely know what I'm doing; I'm just rubbing your back."

"Whatever you're doing, it feels good," Spyro replied, drawling out the final word as Cynder moved her paws about between his wing joints again.

The purple dragon lay there for a couple more minutes while Cynder continued to rub and massage his back, before she decided she was finally finished and laid down on top of him. Spyro's satisfied groans turned into groans of pain and surprise, which eventually just turned into wheezes. "Cynder, get off me!" Spyro coughed.

"No, I'm finished," she drawled.

"Alright, but get off me!"

Cynder just laughed, leaning forwards and licking the side of Spyro's neck, before getting off him. The purple dragon sat up, breathing heavily. "Ow… thanks Cynder," Spyro sighed with a roll of his eyes.

"You're welcome," Cynder replied cheekily, before turning and walking back to the kitchen.

"What? Where are you going?" Spyro asked.

"I figured we finish the night with a bit of a drinking game," she replied, pulling a few bottles of wine out of the cupboard. "Have a bit of fun."

"A drinking game? You know that's not fair, Cynder!" Spyro complained. "Your stupid poison element stopping the effects of alcohol doesn't count. Plus, you know I don't like drinking a heap."

"Come oooon, Spyro. It'll be fun!" Cynder chuckled, sitting down in front of Spyro and popping open a bottle with a smile.

"It's very biased towards you winning."

"Fine. Let's go for 'who can empty a bottle the quickest'."

"A skulling competition? Can't we just do that with water?"

"But wine tastes better than just plain old water. Where's the fun in that?"

"I'd much rather not get drunk, Cynder."

"I've never seen you drunk."

"And I haven't seen _you_ drunk."

"You know that's not possible."

"I know that."

"It's just a bit of fun, Spyro," Cynder pleaded, annoyance starting to flare up in her tone. Her gaze hardened slightly, and it caused Spyro's heart to skip a beat. "Just this once? You know I like a good wine, and I've never been able to play a drinking game before because everyone chickens out."

Spyro groaned, knowing that it was pointless to argue. He didn't _want_ to argue with her. He didn't like arguing, especially with Cynder. It felt wrong. Reluctantly, he gave in, getting up off the couch and sitting on the ground in front of the black dragoness. He then proceeded to reach forward towards a bottle, hesitating significantly before he finally took hold of it. "Alright fine. We'll play just this once, and never again. Got it?" he said firmly.

Cynder nodded in acknowledgement, smiling widely, showing off her teeth. Spyro opened the bottle, staring at it nervously. He'd never been drunk before and he wasn't looking forward to it, because he knew he was eventually going to get there. He remembered yesterday. He probably was on the verge of drunkenness, and already that knowledge concerned him. How far was he going to go? Just for a stupid competition?

The purple dragon had even become so focused on his nervousness and trying not to participate originally, that he didn't notice that Cynder had just been pressuring him to drink. She enjoyed it, especially considering she could never get drunk, as her poison element treated the alcohol like poison and prevented it from affecting her. Usually she ended up getting a _lot_ of alcoholic drinks when going out for food and social conventions, and she often surprised people when she never ended up drunk from it.

Despite this however, she'd promised Spyro many years ago, even before they started their relationship, that she would never pressure him into drinking too much. He only enjoyed a small amount of alcohol, as he wanted to avoid getting drunk. Originally Spyro wasn't interested in drinking at _all_, but as of recently the purple dragon began to have a few drinks, and didn't mind it, but was always wary of how much he drank.

It was always something that Cynder respected, as she knew everyone, except for her of course, had limits, and Spyro was very cautious of crossing the boundary. She had never pressured him to drink more than he wanted to, ever. Now however, that was _exactly_ what Cynder was doing, and Spyro hadn't picked up on it, his attention on Cynder diverted by trying to convince her he didn't want to play.

It was too late to think about it now. Cynder counted down from three and the two dragons quickly lifted their bottles to their lips and started gulping the wine down. They were both fine for the most part, but the bottles were large, and not even halfway through the first bottle Spyro was beginning to squeeze his eyes shut, his grip strengthening on his bottle.

Not too long after he reached halfway, he lowered the bottle, letting out a large exhale, shivering slightly from the amount of alcohol that had just washed out his mouth. It was all he could taste and it was strong. He'd taken big swigs of alcohol yesterday but he'd never skulled half a bottle in one go before.

Spyro looked over at Cynder to see she was still going, and by this point, his competitive side was unintentionally kicking in. He grit his teeth, took a few deep breaths before lifting the bottle to his lips again, after a small amount of hesitation. He kept his eyes squeezed tight, focusing on holding his eyelids closed to distract him from the wine that flooded his mouth and throat.

Near the end of the bottle he started slurping in an attempt to get some air in as well, his lungs running short of breath. His arm started shaking, and by the time he had finally finished the bottle he'd lost enough control of his arm that his paw flexed, his claws digging into the bottle and breaking it into pieces.

The purple dragon took in huge heaves of breath, lowering his head and gritting his teeth together. His mind was already getting clouded. It was more alcohol than he'd consumed the day before, the bottle being significantly larger than the medium-sized one he had yesterday, and on top of _that_, he'd taken it all in at once. He was already sluggish from swallowing so much liquid at once, and the alcohol wasn't helping.

He tried to open his eyes, only to squeeze them shut again as blurry lights assaulted his vision, his heaving breaths turning into low growls. He raised a paw to his head, clutching it tightly, his head starting to spin. After he calmed himself down, he opened his eyes, squinting slightly, before blinking several times to try and clear his vision. It wasn't perfect, however. His vision was already slightly blurry.

If he was still in his right of mind he would've quickly realised how bad of an idea this was, and that he needed to stop _now_. But he was starting to lose it. A slurred chuckle escaped his jaws as his lips pulled in a lopsided smile.

"Already a bit tipsy?" Cynder remarked.

Spyro ignored it and just grabbed another bottle. Cynder didn't complain, raising her eyebrows in surprise before grabbing a second bottle of her own. After the countdown they continued to skull the drinks. This time, Spyro didn't pause in between, but he let out a couple of disgruntled groans here and there, his eyes closed tightly the whole time he was swallowing the liquid, his other paw on the ground, clenched.

Nevertheless, he finished the bottle, panting after taking the bottle away from his lips. His eyes were glazed over and his vision got progressively more and more blurry. A roaring belch tore from his maw, before he let out a somewhat slurred chuckle at the sound he made.

"Spyro? Are you okay?" Cynder asked, tilting her head slightly as concern started to fill her expression.

"Yesss…" he murmured, pausing to hiccup. "Yes I'm fine. Never had… so much damn alcohol in my life before. But I'm fffffine."

"They were two pretty large bottles… bigger than the bottles most places have..." Cynder mused. "Maybe this was a bad idea."

Cynder noticed Spyro was slumping back a bit, relying on the couch to hold him up. She sighed, definitely regretting her decision to force Spyro into this game. Those two large bottles were enough to get most people drunk, and Spyro had just downed them both within a few minutes. Cynder was thankful for her poison element and how it reacted to the alcohol that entered her body, treating it as poison and numbing the effects on her, but she definitely took it for granted, knowing _no one else_ had the same ability as her.

She'd gotten Spyro drunk. It was… sort of funny to watch, but at the same time, he didn't want this, and it was very embarrassing.

"Alright, let's get you back on the couch," Cynder murmured dejectedly, helping Spyro make his way on the couch.

Spyro moaned as he lay on the couch, his vision spinning. He didn't feel good at all. Cynder was quick to run off and grab a large bucket just in case Spyro threw up. She could see his dizziness and didn't want to have to clean up vomit.

Afterwards she put the bottles away, some still full and returning to the cupboard, the empty ones going to the bin, before returning to Spyro. Upon seeing her, Spyro gave her a lopsided smile. "Ccccynder," he drawled.

"Yes it's me… I'm sorry, Spyro. I probably shouldn't have pushed you into playing…" Cynder murmured, reaching forward and stroking Spyro's cheek gently. "Anyway, you can stay here for the night; you're in no way capable of going home and looking after yourself."

Spyro just sighed. "A-a-alright, Cynderrr…"

Cynder let out her own sigh, before turning and leaving Spyro in the living room. It was getting late anyway, so she decided to go have a bath and then go to bed. Spyro could bath in the morning after recovering from his drunken state.

The purple dragon tried to get to sleep, but was somewhat struggling for the first hour or so, his body starting to revolt against him. He had three fits of violent vomiting throughout the hour, the second of which lasted so long that Cynder had to check on him, and even had to grab a new bucket.

The third and final vomiting fit mainly consisted of loud, hoarse dry heaves which also woke Cynder up, and she was on the verge of getting up to help Spyro again. Luckily after two revolts of his stomach, the vomiting finished.

It took Spyro a very long time to fall asleep afterwards, as the room reeked of vomit and his mouth was now tainted with the horrible burning taste of bile. Eventually, he grew way too tired for his own good, and he began to get lightheaded. Not too long after that, he gave way into unconsciousness.

* * *

**Whoo! I'm back! University hit hard throughout October so I apologise for my silence, but I have now finished my first year of university and I now have time to write again! And do all sorts of other things like draw, learn guitar, and make more YouTube videos (links to my Twitter, DA and YouTube are all on my profile btw). On top of this actually, I released a song a couple days ago on another YouTube channel I have called Luu Luue, and the song is called Mirror. I've been really busy with trying to get music finalised this year, and some of it is finally ready lol.**

**It was good to finally get this chapter finished, and I hope you enjoy some more Spynder. Hopefully I pulled it off lol (I get nervous every time I do something romance-y haha; I think I just need to start telling myself I'm at least somewhat decent at it lol).**

**...**

**Dragon of Mystery:**** Aww thanks man. It's good to know I'm doing good with getting people anticipated for the next chapter. And uhhh... how was drunk Spyro for you pahaha? It was always the plan to get him drunk this chapter and you just so happened to comment about it the chapter before it hehe.**

**TARDIS1039:**** Guessing it's more than bloody time for this chapter's release haha. Uni's been frustrating; you've probably heard of it already lol. Glad you like it, and I like how there's now an 'SK archive' lol. I very much agree with the 'guardians' errand boy' topic not being touched on much in fics; that's the whole reason why I wanted to explore it.**

**...**

**Anyway, with this all done, hope you enjoyed, leave a review, and I'll see you in the next chapter, which hopefully won't take two months, although I'll probably be focusing on _Demonised_ first; I kinda wanna get it done now so I might be focusing on that a bit more. I aim to try and get another chapter of _GEM_ done by the end of the year though, so fingers crossed.**


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